A Creed Reborn
by VivaL'Aquila
Summary: You can kill an assassin, but you can't kill the Creed. Altaïr, Ezio, Connor, Edward, Arno, Adéwalé and the Fryes have each done their part for the Assassins, but they aren't done. Alive in the world of Remnant, they lead new lives as combat students at Beacon. However as evil forces draw close, they must rely once more on the Assassin in each of them to protect the freedom of all.
1. Roses and Thorns

**I don't own Assassin's Creed or RWBY. Assassin's Creed belongs to Ubisoft and all rights to RWBY go to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**

 _"We are never fighting alone. Get up, get going, I'll meet you there." – Monty Oum_

 _"Nothing is true. Everything is permitted." – Hassan-i-Sabbah_

Patch, Ruby's POV

It was a cold winter in Remnant, as the vast expanse of forest behind her was covered in white snow. It was peaceful, and that was how Ruby wanted it. She only wanted to pay her respects to the mom she never got to know. She cared not for the biting cold, she only wanted this time under the full moon to spend time alone with her and Summer.

Ruby turned to leave; she would talk another time. She began to take a walk through the snow-covered forest. It was calm and quiet. Too quiet. She sensed something dark. Something with killing intent and hatred for all things human. As she reached the clearing, her suspicions were confirmed. Standing in front of her were a pack of Beowolves, ready to strike and tear her to pieces, with their blood-red fangs and eyes looking like they could almost drip into the snow.

Ruby only stood there ready, and as the first creatures came forth to strike, she was gone in a cloud of rose petals, and leapt in the air, with her silver eyes shining with a determination and calm like that of the Huntsmen she longed to fight alongside with. It was her turn to strike.

She quickly unholstered her weapon, and aimed. A perfect shot cut through the Beowolf's head, causing more to come forward. Ruby landed, before flipping up over another Grimm, shooting down and killing it. Then, bringing her weapon forward, she shot down another Grimm, and quickly burst a shot to her right, where another Beowolf nearly hit her. She rolled backwards from the recoil, and began to transform her weapon into a FUCKING HUMONGOUS scythe of Final-Fantasy proportions! Crescent Rose was ready to lock and chop.

A single Beowolf came forth, and Ruby brought down her weapon, just so the blade hung behind the neck. The wolf-like being growled at her, and she could almost catch the horrid stench of its breath. Imagine burning ash mixed with rotting flesh. Yeah. Bad. Ruby only smirked at the Beowolf, before pulling the trigger, the recoil pushing the blade through the Grimm's abdomen. More Beowolves came charging, and Ruby was prepared. She cocked Crescent Rose and aimed. Beowolves were soon being cut down like corn at the harvest, each falling one after another. One Beowolf made it to her and swiped at her, hoping to take her down, but she just jumped and took a shot, pushing her back from the recoil.

Next Ruby balanced herself on Crescent Rose's hilt, as more wolves came from the forest. One pounced, but she dodged, with her hand still on the trigger, and fired, hitting one wolf, and kicking down the other. The other came at her, but she began to twirl her weapon (like ANY 15-year old girl could) with grace and deadliness, slicing down one Grimm, before cutting another behind her in half, then spinning her blade through another in front of her, and just catching a Beowolf by its neck, before firing down, decapitating it.

Two more Grimm charged, but Ruby caught one by the stomach, then firing, cutting down the first, and shooting down the second behind it. The top half of one wolf hit another, felling it, and more came out. Ruby dodged two, before severing an arm, then its legs. She moved on, hooking the scythe on a Beowolf's neck, then flipping up to balance on its back, and taking a shot, shooting herself upwards along with a severed head. She looked down only to see more.

 _"Oh my Oum, How long will this take?!",_ thought Ruby in her head.

Nonetheless, she spun her scythe, catching a wolf with a bullet, and slicing up another, but was caught off-guard by the third creature, which managed to swipe at her, hitting her scythe and sending her backwards.

By now, Ruby was starting to tire. She barely had a scratch, but as she looked forward, she saw the rest of the pack, numbering to almost 30 or 40.

" _This should be no problem."_ Ruby thought to herself as she loaded a gravity dust cartridge while taking deep breaths (as her uncle kept reminding her).

She stood ready, and burst forward with incredible speed. The wolves could barely process what was happening before limbs, heads and empty shells began flying around while a red blur of rose petals and blurs of movement sped through the pack. Ruby, on the other hand was utterly focused, and fluent in her movement, making each round and swipe count, each attack and movement felling an enemy.

As she stood there in the snow, she was panting heavily. She had never faced this much enemies before. She struck a victory pose in the moonlight, but soon found herself on her knees, out of breath. But that's when she heard it. Loud howling and growling came from the forest. Ruby was too weak to pick up her weapon as the next pack came forth with an Alpha backing them. She would give anything for someone to help her. Yang, Dad, or Qrow.

But as they came closer, she began to slump over, in her mind thinking somberly with a tear coming down her cheek, _"Sorry, Mom. I'll get to see you in person now."_

But besides the Grimm, she couldn't help but sense another presence. A darker one, with burning desire for vengeance or blood, even greater than some of these wolves. And that's when she heard a loud bang, and a thick smoke covered the area. The Beowolves were confused, but sensed this presence as well. A whimper from a lone Grimm was heard, before the sound of metal piercing flesh was followed by the thump of bodies hitting the snow. The smoke cleared, and about ten wolves were already disintegrating, with a small, but deep cut in each of their necks.

The Alpha then looked to the girl in red, charging to rip her to shreds, until Ruby saw him. The form of a young man wearing a white hoodie, with bracers on his arms, and a red sash around his waist like a belt and a crossbow slung over his back. He appeared to be Yang's age, but he was clearly shorter than her, and some light stubble was visible under that hood of his.

He began to sprint towards the Alpha, leaping on a fresh Beowolf corpse to gain leverage. He was soon in the air, with his legs curled up, his eyes with killer intent, and Ruby could barely see a small bloodstained blade extending from his left wrist. He landed on the Grimm's back, and violently shoved his hidden blade into its neck. The wolf was instantly silenced, and fell down, dead.

Ruby looked in astonishment at this man. He had not only saved her, but took on this army of Grimm with nothing but a small blade and his stealth. The man looked at Ruby, and picked her up. Then he asked, "Where should I drop you?"

Ruby said nothing, and only gave him directions to her house. After some time walking through the snowy forest, she soon saw it. Home sweet home. Ruby then stepped down from his arms and said with gratitude, "Hey, I'm Ruby Rose. Thanks for saving me. Didn't get your name, though."

The man said nothing, only one word. "Altaïr."

Ruby knocked on her door and turned around to look at him, only to discover he had vanished, leaving only an eagle feather in the snow. " _Who is that guy?"_ she thought to herself as the door opened to reveal Yang.

"OMIGOSH WHERE WERE YOU?!" Yang exclaimed with worry.

Ruby simply said, "Meh, training."

 **Next up: White trailer ft. EZIO AUDITORE!**

 **Author's Note: This is my first time writing, so please take it easy. If I got anything wrong, please tell me in the reviews, and please leave a review. It helps. Believe me. VIVA OUT! PEACE!**


	2. Burning Cold

**Author's Note: I don't know if over 100 views in less than 24 hours is good, but I'm already surprised! Wasn't exactly expecting this much attention, especially for the first chapter. I'm confident about this, and I hope you guys can bear with me, so here's CHAPTER 2!**

 **I do not own RWBY or Assassin's Creed. If I did, I would be doing much more things with my pathetic life. RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth, and Assassin's Creed belongs to Ubisoft.**

 _"Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow. for the heart has no metrics or form of measure. And all of it... Irreplaceable." – Weiss Schnee_

 _"Our life is made by the death of others." – Leonardo da Vinci_

The White Castle (Ezio's POV)

" _Goddammit how long is this line?!"_ Ezio screamed in his head.

Ezio looked at his watch, it was almost going to start! But he looked ahead in dismay to see the long line still piling up outside the castle. Ezio frowned. He swore he was going to die of old age before he could get in!

Ezio normally cared not for events such as this, much less from the corrupt Schnee Dust Company, but today was special, as was the place it was held, so special that he had left his villa in Vale to travel ALL THE WAY TO ATLAS.

Ezio then looked to the wall, and ever the wild card, smirked as he broke away from the queue and thought to himself, _"Hey, nobody said I couldn't!"_

Ezio began to run to the back of the castle, and I kid you not, CLIMB UP THE FREAKING WALL! Ezio was always the adventurous type, and had a physique to match, so this was not very hard for him. He began to climb up the stone wall, reaching to scale the glass panes, leapt back and forth from window to window and eventually made it to the roof.

Ezio raised himself over the ledge, and caught the beautiful view of the landscape of Atlas from his height. The city was absolutely beautiful, with the city lights shining through the cold, winter night like fireflies. But Ezio had no time to sight-see.

He ran as quickly as he could, and caught sight of the concert just as the announcer raised his voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Weiss Schnee." he heard a voice announce over the mic.

Ezio sat himself down at the roof, overlooking the auditorium, and right there on the stage, he saw her. Weiss Schnee. Ezio had known, dated, and slept with his fair share of ladies, but for Ezio, she was something else. She was just the way he remembered her. Fair skin, piercing blue eyes, and a petite form that seemed almost angelic to him. Weiss then began to sing. Ezio had no words to describe her voice, and could only close his eyes, drowning his thoughts in the beautiful music as he recalled the first time they met here.

One month earlier... (Weiss's POV)

Weiss stood calmly and looked down the long hallway of the White Castle. Kneeling before her was a giant suit of armor. She had signed up for this. If her family were to let her travel to Beacon, she would have to prove herself against her opponent. Her whole life, she was spoiled and given everything she wanted, but she wanted to make a difference. No, she wanted to make a new name for her family and for herself, and this would be the first step.

The giant armor stood up, with its sword raised. Weiss dodged quickly before the gigantic blade slammed into the floor. Myrtenaster at the ready, Weiss darted toward the armor, landing a hit, but barely scratching it. Her opponent swung at her again, but Weiss sped to its right, leaving the armor open to many rapid swipes from the heiress.

Her opponent then slammed its blade into Weiss, but she blocked the strike with her sword, knocking her back.

" _Drat, missed that one."_ cursed Weiss inwardly.

Weiss then looked up to see the armor diving at her with its blade raised. She dodged left, then back, just avoiding an upward heave. Unfortunately, she took a hit, sending her backwards, but not before getting up and casting a glyph under her feet.

With extra speed, Weiss barely dodged a horizontal swing and flew past the sword slamming downward. Flipping up, she managed to land multiple strikes on the helmet, then using a glyph to shoot down like a bullet. Attacking the armor's leg, she then jumped up with a glyph, catching it off-guard with a swipe up the face, and shooting directly at the armor with another glyph.

Attacking the face again with Myrtenaster, she stopped on a glyph to dodge another swipe from the armor, only to take a devastating punch to the face, sending her flying.

However, Weiss didn't feel herself hit the ground, and as she opened her eyes, found herself in the arms of a young man. He was wearing a white and red robe with an elaborate half-cape round his left shoulder protected by a shoulder-plate. On his arms were bracers, each seemed to be weaponized, and sheathed at his red belt was a cutlass. He wore a hood over his head, but it did not hide his face. He had a scar across his lip, dark brown eyes, a light scruff along his chin and perfect features. When Weiss looked up, she began to blush.

She recognized this man. He was Ezio Auditore. From what Weiss heard, he was roughly her age, and was the son of one of the richest men in Vale. He was also known for his unmatched skill and irresistible charm. Ezio then parted her white hair to reveal a bloody scar down her eye. Weiss frowned and stepped down from his grasp.

"I'm fine, thank you." Weiss said in a commanding tone.

"At least let me help, _nobildonna_." Ezio replied in his usual accent.

Weiss sighed before prepping Myrtenaster with dust, making the blade glow red. Ezio smiled and began loading dust crystals into his bracers, switching to his hidden guns.

The giant armor then rushed forward toward Weiss and heaved its blade down on her, but Weiss blocked the blow and brought her blade down with ice dust, creating large crystals to spike up and freeze the giant armor.

Ezio then leapt forth and began leaping the crystals while aiming his hidden guns. Loaded with fire dust, each round exploded on the armor. Then Ezio dived forward to dodge a horizontal strike, letting Weiss leap onto the blade, Myrtenaster ready with energy dust.

In one swipe, the ice shattered, delivering a critical blow to the armor, and Ezio aimed at the armor's sword arm, the force of both attacks blowing it clean off. The armor looked at Weiss, who was casting a large glyph below her, readying her rapier. The armor leaped forward, trying to pound down on her, but Weiss anticipated this and moved to the side, and activated her trap.

The armor was sent flying upwards. Weiss cast multiple glyphs to hold the armor in place, and then nodding at Ezio, who understood her cue, leapt on a glyph to launch himself in the air, followed by Weiss.

Weiss raised her sword, aiming her trajectory while charging Myrtenaster with dust. Ezio then rose up behind her, pulled her feet in line with his, and Ezio kicked forward. Weiss burst down with blinding speed, and with one thrust, the armor began to disintegrate with white light, dissolving into snow crystals as it hit the ground. Weiss then stood up in victory, having completed her trial. She looked behind her to see Ezio facing her with a smile.

She asked him, "Why did you help me? I was fine on my own."

Ezio replied in his usual accent and a playful smirk, "Maybe you're right, maybe I should've stood back. But honestly, where's the fun in that? _Addio, angelo di neve_."

Weiss simply raised an eyebrow as he walked away, but she did understand what he said, and blushed deeply.

Back to the future

Weiss finished singing, and was met with thunderous applause from the large audience. She looked to a booth on the side of the amphitheater to see her sister applauding her, her brother also clapping, but in a more sarcastic manner, and her father simply smiling with his hands on his chin, as always. She then looked up to see the broken moon through the skylight, and… the silhouette of a man on the ledge?

Ezio gave Weiss a round of applause, and threw down a rose to the stage. Weiss caught it, and blushed, but turned to the crowd for a bow. As the curtains closed, Ezio felt his scroll vibrate. Altaïr was calling him.

"Ezio, it's time we get ready." Altaïr told Ezio.

Ezio replied, "Yeah, yeah, I'll be right over. Tell Edward to save me a drink, yeah?"

Altaïr's voice then turned darker, "Where are you, Ezio?"

Ezio went pale. Nobody knew he had gone all the way here to Atlas, when everybody thought he was still in Vale. "Uuuuhhh, Crk* A* I, Sor* can*"

Altaïr wasn't buying it, though. "Ezio, I know you don't have bad service."

Ezio sweatdropped before answering him quickly, "… mkaybye."

Ezio hung up quickly and turned to the edge of the roof, looking down at a pile of hay. Ezio took a moment to admire the surrounding landscape of the kingdom before raising his arms, and falling forward at the call of a nearby eagle.

 **Up next: Black trailer ft. CONNOR KENWAY!**

 **Translation:** _ **nobildonna**_ **= Milady**

 _ **addio, angela di neve =**_ **Goodbye, snow angel**

 **I imagine since Vale is based off of European culture, Italian would seem like a second language for them, so that's my explanation for Ezio speaking Italian. I think Weiss would understand what he says if this was the case because she probably would have been introduced to multiple languages as the heir to the SDC.**

 **I will not be very consistent with my update time, but I will try to update at least twice every week or two. Please leave a review. It really helps. Tell me if I did anything wrong, and I will see you… IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! BYE-BYE!**


	3. Strength of the Pack

**Hey guys! I probably should tell you this: I will cover the rest of the trailers, and then move on to the main story, so do not expect these next couple of chapters to be very long. If you want to move along with the main story, skip ahead to Chapter 5, and be patient for more updates. I know I should be consistent, but homework can be a pain in the ass sometimes.**

 **Also: I chose the term "Reborn" for a reason. The assassins in this story were born in Remnant and have little to no recollection of their previous lives in the games, only their individual skills, weapons, personalities, and names. They know the Brotherhood's teachings, but the Creed does not virtually exist in Remnant, and neither do the Templars. (BUT WHAT ABOUT THEIR ROBES?! AND THE HIDDEN BLADES?! I'll get to that. Eventually.) Some semblances to the games will be included, like other characters from the AC universe, and backstories alluding to their old ones, only in different settings and circumstances.**

 **Without further ado, here's CHAPTER 3!**

 **If any of you thinks I own Assassin's Creed or RWBY, please, go back to school to fix that nonexistent brain of yours. I don't. Assassin's Creed is owned by Ubisoft, and RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**

" _Your hopes have become my burden. I shall find my own liberation."_ – _Blake Belladonna_

" _I watch them fight and die in the name of freedom. They speak of liberty and justice, but for who?"_ – _Ratonhnhaké:ton_

Forever Falls, Vale

Peace.

Tranquility.

Calm.

The sound of scarlet leaves rustling on the forest floor.

Blake was resting on a rock, waiting alongside her old friend, who was polishing his trademark tomahawk under a lone tree.

Connor often looked unfeeling and stoic to her, but Blake knew that under that rocky exterior Connor Kenway was just like her, peaceful at heart and righteous in mind.

Connor was dressed in a white and blue vest, tailed so that it reached the back of his knees. (Imagine Connor's standard robe in AC III, only sleeveless and without the white shirt under, something like Adewale's robes, but like a vest) His chest was fairly visible, he had bandages wrapped around his biceps, and on his arms were gauntlets that covered his forearms. Strapped to his back was a quiver, and at his belt was a sword. Since his hood was down, his face was visible to Blake.

His skin was tanned brown and marked with war paint, and he had a very defined face, rugged features, and dark, cold eyes that she swore could burn into her soul, but also were calm like the forest around her. His hair was dark and long, finished with a ponytail in the back of the head. Poking from his head were two black wolf-like ears. And to think that Blake first found him intimidating.

Suddenly, a figure stepped from the brush. Her mentor (and self-proclaimed boyfriend) Adam Taurus. He was tall, with red hair, and wore a black tailcoat with red highlights. His eyes were covered by a small mask decorated with red patterns.

"Blake, Connor… It's time." The bull faunus said with a hint of coldness in his voice.

Connor simply nodded with a grunt, got up from his spot and raised his hood, and Blake did the same, "Okay."

The trio ran through the forest, at almost inhuman speeds. They reached a cliff overlooking the valley, where a long railway ran through the middle. They were going to catch a ride. The horn of a train was heard from the end of the valley, and then a large train sped down the track towards their position.

On Adam's signal, the three of them slid down the cliff-side. Adam was clutching Wilt and Blush in his hands, Blake had her hand on Gambol Shroud, and Connor had deployed his hidden blade in dagger mode, and was holding his tomahawk in his other hand.

The three jumped, and used their respective weapons to anchor themselves onto the train car, with the sound of screeching metal piercing their ears. Adam, Blake, and Connor then proceeded to leap the cars until they came across a locked hatch, which Connor quickly opened by smashing the lock with his tomahawk. He then opened the hatch, with Adam and Blake following him inside.

However, they weren't alone.

"Looks like we're gonna be doing this the hard way." Adam said with a grim tone.

Blake just rolled her eyes and said, "Don't be so dramatic."

The room was lined with squadrons of Atlesian Knights. The room then lit up with their sinister red lights, as they sensed the three intruders in the room. Moving to assess the threat, one robot aimed at Adam, saying in a monotone voice, "INTRUDER, IDENTIFY YOURSELF."

Adam didn't say a word, and only gave a sinister smile, his eyes glinting with bloodlust under his mask. He then shot Wilt out of Blush, the katana's hilt hitting the android square in the face. Adam quickly ran up to catch the blade in mid-air, before slicing down through the Knight, cutting it cleanly in half.

The other robots looked to each other, then deployed their arm blades and running towards Connor and Blake. Blake stood ready, before leaping backwards, slicing two robots in half with Gambol Shroud.

Connor ran up to a group of robots, heaving his tomahawk into the neck of one robot, hacking the neck out, then spinning to sidestep an arm blade for his face, and stabbed his hidden blade into the back of that robot's head. He switched his tomahawk to its flintlock pistol mode, the handle rotating so that the axe blade faced down. He aimed and blew off a robot's head with a dust round.

Adam spun around to hit another robot behind him, just as Blake cut down one next to him. Connor pulled out his sword and stabbed through another robot, before shooting his flintlock to a robot running toward him. Adam began to fire Blush as a rifle, mowing down a few enemies, while Blake cleared the enemies surrounding them with lightning speed and cat-like reflexes (EH?! XD).

Surrounded by androids, the trio worked in seamless motion. It was very clear they were doing their own thing, but their movements were in perfect tandem with each other, neither interfering with their comrades, while also assisting them as metal parts began flying and robots were being shredded apart. It was a dance of death.

A robot began to fire at them, but Adam simply deflected the bullets with Wilt, while Connor threw his tomahawk at the robot's face, and Blake cut its head off with her sword. Blake continued to destroy more opponents n front of her, before unsheathing Gambol Shroud and dual-wielded the sheath and the katana like two blades (WHAT?!).

Connor retrieved his tomahawk from the severed head, then began to tear more knights apart, circuitry ripping and crackling as Connor's tomahawk and hidden blade were heaved through each of their necks with ease and power.

Blake dispatched a group of robots with haste, before kicking one up, so Adam could kick it through the door of the car. Outside, the three saw even more Atlesian Knights climbing over the cargo to stop them.

Connor merely looked to his fellow faunus and said, "Well, what're we waiting for?"

The three burst forward, as Adam sliced upward with his blade, sending robots up for Blake to attack them, before Connor shot an explosive dust round from his flintlock, finishing them off.

More robots surrounded them, and Blake threw her katana (folded into a pistol), which was attached to a ribbon, and pulled back, slicing up more androids at a long range. She then started to jump up and spin the weapon in all directions, hitting any surrounding foes.

Adam ran up to a group of more enemies, and simply destroyed them all in a flurry of strikes too fast for the eye to see. Connor, meanwhile had switched his sword to a hunting bow, and was headshotting robots with dust-tipped arrowheads. He shot arrow after arrow, each making impact to the centre of the face. One tried to sneak up behind him, but he simply drew his tomahawk in an upwards swing, slicing the face in half from the chin.

The three faunus eventually made it to the next car. It was loaded with crates with a familiar snowflake symbol on each. The car was transporting Schnee Dust Company products.

Adam opened up one crate, filled with crystals of many colors. "Warning: Explosive materials", was plastered on the side of the crate, but that was what Adam wanted. "Perfect! Move up to the next car. I'll set the charges."

Adam retrieved a small, but powerful explosive from his pocket, and placed it inside.

Blake and Connor, however, were skeptical.

"But what about the crew members?" Blake asked with worry.

Adam simply replied coldly, "What about them?"

Connor raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Just then, the group heard the clang of metal coming from the ceiling of the car. Then a giant Spider Drone deployed across the car, readying its cannons. The trio unholstered their weapons with a fighting stance ready. Adam tried to draw the enemy's fire, while Connor dove under it and fired up with his pistol, while Blake tried to hit its head. The drone, however lunged forward and knocked Blake back.

The drone advanced to finish the cat faunus, but Adam leapt forward with swipes from his sword, but was knocked back by enemy fire. The giant robot tried to stomp on Blake with its legs, but Connor managed to move her out of the way just in time. Adam got up from a pile of crates, and Blake was getting worried.

"We need to get out of here!"

But a metallic sound was heard, and the robot had fused its guns into a giant energy cannon, blasting the three out of the car with a large beam. However, Adam had a plan. He tossed Connor another explosive.

Adam shouted to his allies, "Blake, buy me some time! Connor, get to the next car!"

"Are you sure?", Blake asked him with worry.

Adam merely shouted, "DO IT!"

Right then, Blake advanced towards the Spider Drone, while Connor rushed behind him, while Adam was charging his semblance.

Sidestepping some cannon fire, Blake used Gambol Shroud to hook the pistol to the Drone's face. Rising upwards from momentum, she then yanked up the pistol, then unleashed sweeping strikes to the top of the head, then racing from leg to leg attacking each, before jumping up, anchoring the blade up the machine's chin and unloading her clip. Kicking off the drone, she went back to Adam, who was ready.

"Move!", Adam yelled at Blake.

The drone then charged its energy cannon into a focused beam, but Adam raised his sword, catching the entire attack, until he sheathed Wilt, with his eyes, hair and coat glowing a sinister red. The drone tried to jump on him, but Adam simply swiped forward with Wilt, releasing all the focused energy of the beam in one, devastating strike. The world went red, as the drone was hit with the full force of the attack, and disintegrated into nothing shortly after. Adam sheathed his sword, and moved on to join his comrades.

He then saw the two on the next car, Blake giving him a discerning look, and Connor turned away from him, holding not his bomb, but the detonator for it.

Adam drew his sword with a scowl. "What is this?!"

Connor didn't turn his head and spoke in a deadly tone. "I may be a freedom fighter, but I will not shed innocent blood."

"Goodbye." Blake finished.

Adam could only stare in disbelief before Connor threw a smoke bomb at him, covering the area in thick fog. However, Adam could easily find his way through the smokescreen as a faunus, but that was why Connor had planted the bomb right in front of Adam's feet. Connor detonated the bomb, sending Adam backwards as Blake separated the train cars, ensuring that he couldn't follow them.

As the train continued on, Blake only sat there somberly as her long. black hair flowed in the wind like the rose-red leaves whistling through the trees, probably contemplating her recent choice. The train then came to a bridge over a river. Connor walked to the edge of the car, and observed the beautiful valley around him. He gazed at an eagle circling above, then back at Blake to bid her farewell.

"See you at school, then."

Connor then leapt forward, arms outstretched, as he felt the rush of wind across his face before hitting the cool water.

 **Next up: Yellow trailer ft. EDWARD KENWAY!**

 **Oh, my goodness. I knew this one would be longer, but wow, this was tiring to make! Okay, so I plan to include Shay at some point, but I don't know how. I think it's fitting he become a villain, but his character motivations as a Templar would make me see him better as some sort of Qrow-type anti-hero. I'll let you decide. How should I make him? Villain or Anti-Hero? Post a review so I can choose.**

 **Also: In case you're asking, yes, I wrote Connor as a wolf faunus in this story. My reasons for doing so would be because of his name, which means "lover of hounds" and his constant portrayal as having a sort of connection with animals, like in the Tyranny of King Washington, when he gets animal powers.**

 **If you're wondering how I will write Edward and Connor's family relation, I'll write them off as cousins because they're both the same age in this AU and since Connor's a faunus, they're to distanced to be brothers, but I will say that they were still grandson and grandfather at some point, and these are the same people, only reborn in a new life.**

 **Please leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter (so excited to write this one), and I will see you… NEXT TIME! PEACE!**


	4. All that Glitters is Gold

**Hey, guys! This is the last trailer to cover, and after this, I move on to Vol. 1! Dunno if I can pull through, but I've made it here, might as well keep going! Also: 1,300 views? Thanks for your feedback and supporting my crappy story!**

 **Without further ado: CHAPTER FOUR!**

 **If any idiot would be stupid enough to think I own these franchises, you are not worthy of that brain of yours. Assassin's Creed belongs to Ubisoft, and RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.**

" _Scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical, one sided and easily processed. Yet every misshapen spark's unseen beauty is greater than its would be judgement." – Yang Xiao Long_

 _"Damnation seize my soul if I give your quarters, or take any from you." – Edward Thatch_

Junior's Club, Downtown Vale

It was a lively night at the club.

Music was playing, and lights were flashing.

Crowds of patrons were dancing and enjoying the company of their friends, but some were spending the night here alone.

Edward was one such man. He had left to get a drink here, but decided to might as well enjoy his night. He had tried some of the rum at the bar, and seriously thought that the Aquila should have more of this stuff. Adéwalé was covering his job as the barkeep back at the Aquila, so he just relaxed back into his chair and ordered another glass of rum. What was the hurry anyway?

Edward was wearing a leather vest over a white and blue hoodie, with leather guards covering his biceps. On his arms were armored gauntlets, each armed with the signature hidden blades. Holstered at his chest and belt were four flintlocks (Hey, he wanted to be prepared!) and at his waist were two cutlasses sheathed. His face was the definition of "scruffy", with rough stubble across his chin, his long blonde hair messy and visible under his hood.

Edward spotted Junior, the man who owned the place talking with a man holding a cane, with orange hair sticking out from his bowler hat. Roman Torchwick. Edward frowned at the sight of the thief. He may not be a saint, but he wasn't a criminal, but this wasn't his business at the moment, so he simply turned his head away toward the door.

But that's when she came in. From her looks she was around as old as Edward was. She had quite the body too, and based on her choice of clothing, she knew this all too well and was proud of it. She was wearing an orange scarf and a sleeved vest, which was unbuttoned at the top, revealing the yellow crop-top she had under that didn't hide much of her cleavage from Edward's eye. She had short shorts that hugged her form, and showed off her legs, and at her arms were yellow bracelets and fingerless gloves.

But what really got Edward's attention (other than her heavenly bust) was her hair. She had lilac purple irises, and long, golden hair that reached down to her thighs, and almost seemed to glow and move like burning flames. Edward was very impressed with what he was seeing, and had a devilish smirk on his face.

The girl walked down to the bar, where Edward was sitting. Edward then said to the bartender, "Oi, two drinks please? One for the lady." while gesturing to Yang.

Yang looked at him with those words and with an eyebrow raised. She studied his face for a while then trailed down his body with a smile that mirrored Edward's.

" _Did he seriously order me a drink? Hmmm, but he does look kinda hot. Meh, guess I'll roll with it_." Yang thought in her head.

"Strawberry sunrise. No ice. Oh! And one of those little umbrellas!" Yang told to the barkeep.

Edward simply nodded, and the bartender nodded back and got to work.

"Aren't you a little young to be here, lass?" asked Edward to Yang.

Yang just laughed, and replied in a flirtatious tone, "You're one to talk, honey. You offered me the drink. How nice of you."

Edward smiled at her reply and said, "I'll keep them going if you want me to."

Yang's grin grew, and said while grasping his chin, "Ooh, look who's trying to get lucky tonight. Sorry, but I have business here. But… you have got me interested. Maybe later, honey."

Yang's attention turned to Junior, who had just came next to them at the bar. He was a tall man, with a full beard and wearing a black vest and tie with a white shirt. "Aren't you a little young to be in this club, blondie?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

Edward could be heard in the background yelling, "SEE?"

Yang giggled and asked, "Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?"

Junior replied, "So you know who I am. You got a name sweetheart?"

Yang just giggled again, and answered, "Yes, Junior, I've got several. But instead of sweetheart, you can just call me SIR." and what happened next, I really don't wanna mention because of how horrifying it must have been for the poor man, but I will anyway.

Yang grabbed him by his groin and squeezed. HARD. Even Edward winced from the sight of it. He knew pain, but not even the Assassin's wrath could match this anguish. Junior's eyes widened in pain and surprise, before Yang raised her voice again, but with a much more commanding tone.

"People say you know everything. Tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go."

She was holding up a scroll, with a photo of a woman with long dark hair, red armor and an oversized red katana. Edward saw her face was covered by a eerie mask resembling a Grimm's face.

Junior tried to speak through his pain, "I've never seen her before, I swear!"

Yang, however, wasn't having it, "EXCUSE ME?" and squeezed HARDER. (I almost feel sorry for this man.)

"I swear, SIR!"

The bouncers in the club had noticed the commotion, and had picked up fire axes threateningly at the three. Edward simply watched the scene unfolding in front of him, but decided he shouldn't be messing with this chick's business.

Yang noticed the group, and smiled. "Ooh, looks like we have an audience. This must be kinda embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward…"

Junior tried to speak again, "Listen… blondie…Sir, If you wanna make it out of this club alive, I suggest you let me go, now!" And let him go she did, and Edward released a deep breath in relief. He swore he would be feeling his pain if she did that any longer.

Junior then said in an annoyed tone, "You'll pay for that."

Yang then returned to her playful tone and ran up to Junior. "Oh Junior, I was just messing with you! Don't be so sensitive. Come on, let's kiss and make up, okay?"

Edward's eyes then widened, " _Wait… WHAT?"_

Junior looked at her with confusion like Edward's, and said, "Huh? O-okay."

Edward then fully turned around to face them. " _DOUBLE WHAT?!"_

Yang leaned forward, her lips puckered up, and Junior doing the same, and Edward was absolutely dumbfounded by what he was seeing. " _Don't do it. Noooo, NOOOOO…. NO."_

However, Yang simply decked him in the face, sending him crashing through one of the pillars on the dance floor. Edward simply stared wide-eyed in awe of what happened, and with a smile on his face. The party guests panicked and began to run out the door, and for good reason, because Yang's bracelets began to transform into full gauntlets, with shotgun shells lining their undersides.

Bodyguards raced to get her, but she just jumped up with a flip, and faced down with a determined smirk and fire LITERALLY BURNING AT HER FIST! (HOW?!). She landed pounding a fist at the ground, surrounding her in a fiery aura, blowing away any nearby guards.

Edward raised an eyebrow, and then smirked. He took a shot from his glass, and set it down with some lien. He looked to the barkeep and said calmly, "Ya know what, I think I'll spare you, mate." Edward then walked up to the dance floor, cocking his pistol swords. He wasn't leaving this club without a dance.

Yang had gotten up and kicked down a bouncer with a flip. She then uppercutted another man with a fiery punch. As more men advanced, she punched one in the gut, tripping another, and uppercutting another before smacking him back down to the floor.

Edward side-stepped one thug's axe, then grabbed it and knocked him out cold with it by hitting his face. Another thug tried to grab Edward from behind, but he grabbed his pistol swords, still sheathed and fired backwards, hitting him square in the face. He pulled out his swords, blocking a strike from another man, then kicking up and slashing at his neck, knocking him down. He held his swords left and right, shooting down thugs coming from both sides, both direct hits, then aimed forward at a pair coming at him, knocking them out as well.

Yang was having a blast. She had hooked a man in the face, before sending him flying with an uppercut. She leapt onto one bouncer, gaining leverage to send a downwards slam on another. Then she fired Ember Celica forward, the recoil sending her back into a group of thugs, stunning them, but Yang hit one with an elbow to the chest, before kicking another away. One thug tried to swing at her with his machete, but she dodged it and punched him with an uppercut to the jaw, a shell to the abdomen, and a swift kick into a pillar.

The DJ on the podium had taken out a tommy gun and fired down on the pair. While sprinting towards him, Edward simply deflected the bullets with his swords and bracers, and shot at him with his pistol swords. Dazed from a headshot, the DJ fell back. Edward sheathed his swords and with a boost from Yang, flew up towards him. Hidden blades at the ready, he slammed his hand down on him, but the man's aura protected him from the blade, so Edward picked him up, slammed him on the desk and flipped him over the podium to the floor.

Edward and Yang looked behind him to see Junior's personal bodyguards.

"Melanie, who are these guys?" asked the girl in red. She had claws on her arms and heavy makeup.

"I dunno Militia, but we should teach them a lesson." Answered the girl in white and green. Her shoes were bladed and sharp, apparently for kicks.

"Shame, the hooded guy's kinda hot." Said Militia.

Edward snickered at this comment, while Yang just rolled her eyes and swapped out her orange shells for explosive reds. Edward inserted a fire dust cartridge in his pistol swords, making the blades glow red with flames licking the steel.

Both blondes burst forward, firing explosive bullets and shells onto the dance floor. Both twins dodged the blasts, and advanced. Melanie engaged with Yang, while Militia fought with Edward.

Militia put up a good fight. She was quick and light on her feet, but she had never fought a man of Edward's skill. Edward slashed and thrusted forward with his blade, and Militia attempted to dodge them. Edward thrusted his sword forward, and Militia instinctively leapt back. Edward smiled, and pulled the trigger, sending Miltia sprawling backwards with an explosive bullet.

Militia looked up to see Edward jumping toward her with his swords pointing down at her. He drived the blades into the ground, but missing Militia. She then kept up the fight, until Edward lodged his swords in her claws, disarming him. Militia smirked, but was caught off guard when he held her claws back with his hidden blades. Edward punched her in the face, dazing the girl, before grasping her face with a hidden blade, and quick-drawing his flintlock and firing at her, knocking Militia out.

Melanie was also having a hard time with Yang. She may have been skilled, but Yang Xiao Long was not one to mess around. The two exchanged kicks, both dodging or blocking with their weapons, but neither of them could land a hit on each other. Melanie tried to catch her with some kicks, but Yang simply blocked with Ember Celica. But one kick sent Yang flying back.

The two advanced once more, exchanging blows, but Yang side-stepped one kick, before spinning around to elbow her stomach, stunning Melanie, before spinning her around by the arm, then meeting her head with Yang's boot, knocking Melanie out cold.

The pair looked to each other and smiled, then back to a spotlight shining on none other than Junior, who was holding a rocket launcher.

"You're gonna pay for this. BOTH OF YOU." Junior said with coldness.

"Uh, already did, mate." Edward remarked while gesturing to the lien he had left with his empty shot glass, still on the bar.

Junior scowled and aimed his rocket launcher. A flurry of missles shot down to Yang and Edward, who dodged all of them. Junior fired another batch, but the pair shot each down with their respective weapons. Junior then transformed his weapon into a baseball bat, using it to bludgeon Yang on the head, knocking her back.

Edward drew his swords and fired, Junior being dazed by the shots. Edward then jumped and spun his body around, with his swords spinning around him at Junior, who blocked the slash with his bat. Junior heaved down, but Edward kneed him in the chin, then fired down on his head, before Junior got up and knocked the air out of him by striking his stomach, then hitting him away.

Yang, however had gotten up, her hair and eyes burning with golden flames, before slamming her fists together, causing her hair to burst into fire, glowing with golden embers. Yang burst toward Junior, who attempted to shoot her down with his rocket launcher. When Yang got close, he tried to hit her, but she was too fast, as she landed punch after punch, each stronger than the rest, before her eyes began to shift to bloody red, and she slugged Junior across the jaw.

Edward had got up, to see Junior doing the same, with his broken bat in one hand, and…

… strands of Yang's golden hair, ripped from her head. Oh no.

Edward raced towards Junior, before taking a glance at Yang. She had a certain look on her face. She was pissed. No. Outraged. No, not even that. She had a look of killer intent he had only seen his cousin Connor pull off, one that seemed almost primal, savage, and unstoppable. A look that told you somebody would die that day.

Yang LITERALLY EXPLODED IN A BURST OF FLAME, one that engulfed the entire club in golden light, before Yang rushed toward Junior, her fist drew back with fire trailing from it. Edward kicked his knees, then shot an explosive round at his feet, shooting him upwards. Edward then ran forward in Yang's path, readying to boost her up.

Yang stepped on Edward's hands, and then was propelled into the air by him, sending her flying toward Junior like a rocket. Her eyes were blood red with feral rage, and with a roar, she collided her fist with Junior's face. Edward swore that loud, ear-shattering crack was either the sound barrier or the man's face that broke.

Yang got down, and with deep breaths, her eyes returned to their normal lilac color. She looked at Edward, then said, "So, that was one hell of a first date, huh?"

Edward then chuckled and said, "Oh that's what it was? I expected something much more life-threatening. Oh! How about a FUCKING NEVERMORE!"

Yang giggled, then looked over to the bar. Her drink was still there, so she went over to grab the glass. Edward smiled and walked behind to make his own.

Yang asked, "Say, how'd you know how to make these?"

Edward smiled and said, "I work at a bar not far from here, it's called the Aquila. I'm the barkeep. Nice place to catch a good fight, but I have to say, this night sure beats the fight clubs."

Yang smiled and said, "Really? That's cool! I should visit sometime! But sorry, I can't. I'll go to combat school next week, and my dad's already protective enough."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Really? Where are you going?"

"Beacon, duh!"

Edward smiled. "What are the odds? I'm going too!"

Yang just retained her expression and said, " You know, you haven't told me your name."

"Edward James Kenway, your Sexiness."

Yang giggled at his comment. "Yang Xiao Long."

Edward raised his freshly made glass and said, "Well, here's to a good first year at school."

The two tinked their glasses and took a shot. Yang looked back in front of her, only to see Edward gone, and a card under his glass. It had an odd symbol on it, almost resembling an arrowhead. It contained the address for the Aquila, and on the back was a phone number. Edward's. Yang smiled and exited the building, only to see a familiar figure in a red cloak facing her.

"Yang? Is that you?"

"Oh! H-hey, sis!"

"What are you doing here?"

"… It's a long story…"

 **Up next: EPISODE 1 (sorta)!**

 ***breathes sigh of relief***

 **OOOHHH MY GOODNESS! I finally did it. I finished all the RWBY trailers. I will try to continue on the main plot, but I need to mention a few things.**

 **Sam Hill:** **Could you have a romance between Conner and Aveline please**

 **Umm, I dunno. I have to point out, my confirmed pairings for this story so far are Weiss x Ezio and Edward x Yang (Unoriginal? I know. Shut up.) I don't know if I should pair Blake with Connor, or stick with the canon Black Sun, but at the same time, I don't really know how to add Aveline in this story when 10 assassins are confirmed to be in it, but I'm open to suggestions. What do you think?**

 **Batmd: Hay maby you could do Edward's trailer like with the black flag UK trailer just replace the tavern with junior's bar and maby have Adewale as a ram faunas**

 **Uh, first of all, why would Ade be a ram? Second of all, no, not for this one because I wanted to stick with the RWBY trailers and how they went, but I think it'll be a cool idea to add that trailer, but I just don't know how.**

 **Batmd: Question is conner half faunas from his mother's side and half human from his father's side or is he full faunas because I think the whole half faunas half human idea makes more sense**

 **Yeah, actually that makes perfect sense. I think Connor would be born to a faunus mother, and Haytham (yes I will add him in this story (sort of like Shay, not good, or evil). His mother's death would also explain why he was with Adam and Blake and the White Fang.**

 **Guest: Is Edward still going to have his ship the jackdaw**

 ***laughs hysterically** *****

 **Maybe. Maybe.**

 **Thanks to you all for helping me get through this! I really think this will go somewhere, but I know it isn't perfect. I dunno if you guys think it's good or not, but those of you who left suggestions and support have really helped me get through with these chapters. Thank you so much. Please leave a review, it helps a lot! This is Viva signing off and I will see you… NEXT TIME. BYE-BYE!**


	5. The First Day

The Aquila, Downtown Vale

"RAAAAGGGH!"

Jacob threw another punch, but Ezio merely stepped to the side with the smuggest expression on his face. Jacob frowned at "rich boy" as he taunted him as he kept dodging his blows, not even punching him a single time. The fistfight round was hard enough against this guy, but it had been around 15 minutes and none of their auras were depleted.

Ezio was getting bored however, and as Jacob punched at him again, he grabbed his fist, pulled him forward, and delivered a quick chop to the nape of his neck, stunning him before pounding his face to the concrete floor. Jacob's aura had depleted to 50%, and Jacob put a finger up to his nose, and saw trickles of red dripping.

The crowd was cheering and screaming from the sidelines. Ezio smiled at his spectators, enjoying his glory. His fellow assassins were scattered across the building.

Altair was in his room, doing Oum knows what, but Ezio probably guessed he was writing in his journal again. Connor was sparring with a training dummy, cleaving the poor thing's head to splinters with his tomahawk. Edward had recently joined in and was super hammered from his night at Junior's, and was watching their fight with Adéwalé from the bar. Arno was the commentator for the match, and when Ezio studied his face, he began to understand why people always confused him with Arno. The two had similar personalities, and looked almost exactly the same, from their faces to their hair. Finally, Evie was watching from the crowd, face-palming at her twin brother's performance.

Jacob got up again and assumed a boxing stance. Ezio merely stood his ground, and activated his Eagle Sense. All his brothers (and sister) had eagle vision, but Ezio's semblance made him quite the exception. He smiled, and as Jacob released a combination of blows and kicks, Ezio kept his ground. He dodged a jab, leaned back from a hook, redirected an uppercut into Jacob's face, and grabbed a kicking foot before knocking the man off his feet and flipping his body onto the ground.

Ezio turned away, only to see Jacob's aura was at 11%, just one point away from elimination. He sighed, before kicking him in the side, causing a buzzer to beep, and the crowds to cheer as he raised a fist in victory. Jacob got up from his fight, before Ezio turned to him to say, "You owe me a drink."

Jacob managed a sarcastic grin before slugging Ezio over his shoulder and walking over to the bar, where Ezio saw Edward laughing at Jacob over something, only to take a brass punch to the face, knocking him out cold.

Ezio walked over to his room to sort out some clothes and supplies to pack. He was going to Beacon Academy after all, as were all of them.

"You are distressed, child."

Ezio turned to see Athene, the woman who ran the place. She was thin, and although quite old, her face still retained a young appearance and shape. Her long dress reached down to her feet, and a necklace adorned her neck. She spoke in a calm voice, like a mother to her child.

Ezio replied calmly while holding back his growl, "I'm fine."

Athene knew better, and said, "You still want vengeance for your father, don't you?"

Ezio sighed in defeat. "I don't know why it happened or who did it, but I know why he led me here. To learn how to fight, how to make things right again. I have nothing left to learn, yet you tell me I'm not ready."

Athene smiled at Ezio and said with a hand on his shoulder, "Your brothers each have a story to tell, some may not know what you have been through, and some have seen worse. Have you seen Connor?"

Ezio flinched. He thought about Connor and what he must have gone through. Connor was always a private (and pathetically blunt) man, but losing your mother and tribe just for being Faunus must have been very difficult.

Athene looked at him and said calmly, "Child, I have nothing left to teach you. You have mastered the ways of the Assassins and earned your colors. Your future lies with your brothers, at Beacon. They will teach you what I cannot. Besides, you can always meet new friends."

Ezio raised an eyebrow, "What're you talking about, woman? I've got plenty of friends!"

Athene frowned, "I meant besides those with "benefits"."

Ezio chuckled and put a hand on June's shoulder. "I'll be fine, _madonna_. Worry about Edward for a change."

Athene laughed a bit, then finished, "You are still young, and you will have your vengeance, but you will bring justice to the corrupt as a huntsman, among the heroes of Remnant. And it starts… with you packing up."

Ezio looked behind to his bed, where his suitcase was, along with a messy pile of clothes and a box of condoms.

Athene looked at Ezio questioningly.

"What? At least I'm prepared!"

Athene left his room and shut the door, then thought to herself, " _It's going perfectly. Their training is complete. I just need to tell them the truth. They will have to know in time._ "

The next morning…

Altair was the first to wake up, naturally. He put on his hoodie, tied his belt, and then got his weapons ready. He checked his crossbow to see if anything was wrong with it. He flicked it in his hand, turning it into a short sabre, and Altair smiled. He loaded his quiver with arrows, and of course, packed his journal and a pen. He put on his boots, grabbed his bag and went out the door to wake up the others.

Ezio was still asleep, so Altair shook him until he began to stir.

"Hrmm… fuck off, will you? Just a few more hours…"

Altair simply rolled his eyes and pulled the covers off, forcing Ezio out of his bed. Ezio sighed and began to pack. He checked his hidden blades, and made sure the mounted gun on each wrist was loaded. He took his sabre and dagger and sheathed them at his belt. He put on his robe, and put on some jeans under, with combat boots on. He packed his bags and joined Altair out the door.

Connor was already awake, and packing. He obviously didn't take a shower, as he felt it would waste time. Connor made sure his tomahawk and hidden blade were still sharp, then put on his vest and filled his quiver. He carried a light duffel bag, but didn't carry much, because he didn't see the need to wear much else. He waited outside his door, and joined his friends once they arrived at his room.

Edward was out cold, and needed Connor to fire his gun right there in the room for him to wake up.

Edward groaned with bags under his eyes and a severe hangover from last night. "Argh, my head…"

Nonetheless, Edward got up and packed his bags. He reloaded all his guns, and polished his swords. He put on his outfit, and shaved his chin a bit with a razor. He left for Adéwalé's room to make sure he was ready as well.

Adéwalé was up and packed. He flicked his blunderbuss in his hand, transforming it into a large machete, showing it was functioning properly. The faunus smiled and opened his door to find Edward waiting for him. The two greeted each other, then left for the exit.

Arno was still asleep, and it was already difficult to get him out of bed. But nonetheless, he began to get ready. His cutlass was sharp, his phantom blade loaded and his guillotine gun primed and ready. The gun was from Leonardo, one of the best weapons designers in Remnant and a person he still couldn't believe Ezio knew personally. He walked out the door with his friends and down to the living room.

Evie was the first awake, as usual, and she was already set to leave once Jacob was awake, as always. Evie had her cane prepared. She shifted the handle a bit, turning the thing into a carbine rifle, with a small scope and barrel flicking out from the cane. She then turned it back and pulled the short sword from the cane, making sure it was still sharp. Jacob had his dual kukri in hand, then transformed them into revolvers. He smiled and stowed them away in his coat. He packed his brass knuckles and of course, he wore his signature top hat.

The two were eating breakfast in the living room, before the rest of the gang came to join. The TV was still on and broadcasting the news.

"Breaking news! Last night, another dust shop was robbed by wanted criminal, Roman Torchwick. At the scene of the crime, eyewitnesses reported a young girl in red and huntress Glynda Goodwitch foiling the robbery. Despite continued efforts, Torchwick remains in hiding, and if you have any information regarding his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department immediately. Back to you, Lisa."

Jacob scoffed at this. "Do the police even do anything nowadays? If huntsmen and huntresses are the blokes bringing in criminals, why do we even need the cops?

Altair just answered him, "Funny you ask that, considering your line of work."

The others laughed at this and continued eating. After breakfast, the crew bid Athene goodbye and set off for Beacon.

"Say, how'll we get there? Do we wait for a bus or something?" Arno asked.

Edward smiled and led the group to the back of the building, where a small airship was parked, with the word "Jackdaw" on the hull. The vessel was clearly smaller than the military ships Atlas had, but it was still quite impressive. Cannons were lining the hull, and a bird figure-head was mounted on the front of the vessel.

Edward faced the group and said with a smile, "Lady, gentlemen, Arno. Step aboard. I'm driving us there."

"How the hell did you get this thing?" asked Ezio.

Edward just stammered awkwardly, but answered, "Y-you know what, that doesn't really matter right now, mate."

Altair climbed in with the rest, only saying, "If any of us throws up, I will murder you in your sleep."

Edward just chuckled and replied, "Well, you'd better hold it in, mate."

Once everyone was aboard, Edward started up the vehicle and flew off to Beacon Academy.

Meanwhile:

"I can't believe my baby sister's going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" Yang exclaimed with joy while crushing Ruby with a hug.

"Please…stop…" Ruby groaned while struggling to speak.

"But I'm sooo proud of youuu!" Yang said excitedly.

Ruby replied, "Really sis, it was nothing."

Yang wasn't convinced however. "What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone in Beacon's gonna think you're the bee's knees!"

"But I don't wanna be the bee's knee's, okay? I don't wanna be any kind of knees! I just wanna be a normal girl with normal knees." Ruby replied disapprovingly.

"What's with you? Aren't you excited?!" Yang asked her.

"Of course I'm excited! It's just that…I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything." Ruby answered awkwardly.

Yang went up to put her arm on Ruby's shoulder to comfort her. "But you are special."

The two then watched a news display, before the holographic image was replaced with the form of a blonde woman wearing a purple cape and glasses. "Hello, and welcome to Beacon."

"Who's that?" Yang asked.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." the hologram continued.

"Oh."

Glynda kept speaking, "You are among the privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsmen and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

The hologram faded, giving the passengers a view of the beautiful city of Vale.

"Oh wow!" Ruby gasped as she could see the city below her as she pressed her hands up to the glass window of the airship.

"Look! I can see Signal from here!" Ruby pointed to a rather large campus amongst the buildings and architecture.

"I guess home isn't too far after all." Ruby said with relief.

Yang put an arm around her sister's shoulder. "Beacon's our home now."

The pair then turned to their right to see a blond-haired boy wearing light armor and a sword sheathed at his side groaning. He then began to gag and his face turned green as he rushed for a toilet.

Yang snickered and said, "Heh, guess the view isn't for everyone."

Ruby then looked up to see a stray airship being boarded by two police bullheads.

Meanwhile, aboard the Jackdaw…

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Edward yelled with anger.

"I'm sorry sir, but you don't have a license to pilot an airship." The officer said calmly.

Edward was angry, but he had to admit, the police officer was correct. He wasn't licensed to pilot this thing. He did steal it, after all. He sighed in defeat, and the officer continued.

"What's your destination?"

Edward answered, "Beacon Academy, pisspot."

The officer checked his scroll, and then he said, "Well, you're in luck. Another airship in this location's headed there right now. We could take your ship now and send you over to the next ship, or we could take you in."

Edward opened his mouth to protest, but Connor placed his hand over his shoulder with a look that told him, " _Stop. We've had enough for today._ "

Edward groaned and begrudgingly agreed.

The eight passengers were soon on one of the police bullheads to be transferred to the other ship. Altair slapped Edward in the back of the head, but Edward was too busy weeping for the loss of his ship.

The group was dropped off in the other airship, where they simply spread out and made themselves comfortable for the rest of the trip. Altair began to write in his journal, before looking up to see a familiar girl in a red hood.

" _Isn't she a little bit young to be here? Huh, guess she must have gotten in early._ ", Altair thought to himself.

Connor simply sat in a corner, polishing his weapon. Arno and Jacob were flirting with some of the female passengers, only to earn a few slaps in the face. Evie was quietly reading a book in her seat, and Adéwalé was enjoying the view.

Ezio and Edward were walking through the crowd, and just then, Edward noticed one particular blonde, one he remembered all too well. He smiled and walked over to her.

"Yang?"

Yang looked to her side to see a familiar-looking boy, and smirked. "Edward! Hi!"

Edward looked at Ruby and asked Yang, "Who's this?"

Yang answered, "Oh! This is my sister, Ruby!"

Edward reached out for a handshake, greeting Ruby. "Edward Kenway, lass. Pleasure to meet you."

Ruby just stared at Edward, then back at Yang. "My dear sister Yang, is there something going on between you two that I don't know about?"

Yang sweatdropped and insisted, "No! No! Nothing like that!"

Edward commented with a snicker, "Oh, really? I would say otherwise."

Ruby glared at Yang, whose face was turning red. She then sighed and said, "At least you can make friends that easily."

Yang raised an eyebrow and merely replied, "Hey, if I could do it, you could too. It's in our blood!"

Ruby smiled at her words and asked, "I wonder who we're gonna meet?"

Yang replied, "Eh, I just hope they're better than "vomit boy"." She gestured to the young man, who was hunched over and hurling all over the floor… right next to them.

"JAYSUS, FUCK!" Edward exclaimed loudly as vomit was getting on his clothing.

" _Merda_ , I just cleaned this thing!" Ezio cursed as some got on his robe.

"Oh! Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoe!" Ruby yelled in disgust.

"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" Yang said, while trying to scrape the vomit off on the floor.

"Get away from me! Oh, get away from me, get away from me, get away from me, get away from me!" Ruby exclaimed repeatedly.

 **Up next: Episode 2!**

 **Honestly, dunno if this chapter was the best start, but I really would appreciate some feedback from you to tell me if it's getting better or not.**

 **Guest:** **Edward kenway is the Grandfather of Connor Kenway not cousin and Connor kenway is not a faunas he the native American/savage**

 **Yes, I know all about this, but think about it. These are the assassins in different lives, they may be the same people, but they didn't have the same childhoods and pasts. These assassins are reincarnations. I wrote them as cousins because it wouldn't make sense for them to be grandfather and grandson, and even if it were true, how the hell would they know that if they're the same age? Also, Connor still has the appearance of a native American, but how the hell can he be a native American if America doesn't exist in Remnant? I made him a faunus because they represent racism and discriminated communities in Remnant. In this story, Connor is a faunus because it reflects his character motif and explains his past of oppression by the colonists. Besides, this is a fanfiction and an AU. I'm just trying to tell my story better by changing what I can.**

 **WackyM3GAFR3AK** **:** **I see where you are getting at with those ideas, not bad :)** **  
** **Do you think there can be a chapter about Shay and Cinder teaming up, which would give the assassins a challenging enemy with assassins knowledge and skills in future chapters.** **  
** **PS: Cinder might have a interest in Shay. (ShayxCinder)**

 **I'm already set with Shay being an anti-hero, so I don't think this will happen (but Cinder x Shay sounds super hot tho)**

 **Guest:** **Maby you could have Leonardo da vinci as a famous artist and weapons inventer and due to him inventing weapons ruby is his number one fan**

 **Hmm…**

 **So anyway, sorry I didn't update in a while, I'll try to upload at least once a week, and please leave a review, tell me how shit my writing is, or leave a request. And as always, I will see you… In the next chapter! BYE-BYE!**


	6. Making Friends

Beacon Academy, Vale

The airships docked on the edge of the cliff, where a massive castle of a campus was standing tall. The vehicles hovered near the edge, where they stopped right at the front of Beacon Academy.

The doors opened inside the airship, where a certain blonde boy rushed out first, and began retching into a nearby trashcan. Yang, Ruby and the assassins each exited with the other students.

The ten teens looked up in awe at the school. Was it even a school? A castle would be a better fit.

The building was… well… imagine Hogwarts in an sci-fi anime. Yeah. Like that.

In front of the school was a massive courtyard with bannered lampposts lining the road that ended with a stone statue of huntsmen standing in victory. The courtyard was circled with arches standing tall around the area. The campus itself was a sight to behold. The main hall was huge, with spires built on the top and beautifully decorated glass windows, and the main building behind consisted of enormous towers of concrete and glass with a massive clock tower shining with orbs of light standing over the entire estate.

Arno stared in awe with his jaw hanging loose. Coco had told him the place was huge, but it was something else to see the damn place himself! Connor looked blankly, but a smile came to his face as he looked over the beautiful architecture. Ezio was amazed to say the least, and that was surprising, since he'd seen the best before. Evie was admiring the aesthetic designs and pure majesty of the campus with a smile on her face. Jacob and Edward, on the other hand were a bit intimidated. Being raised outside the kingdoms, Edward had never been to school, and Jacob never did like school in the first place, but they had to admit, living here for a couple months wouldn't be half bad.

Yang and Ruby were amazed over the sight of the building.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this!" Yang commented.

Ruby then caught sight of a passing student's weapon and…

…she turned into a starry-eyed floating chibi. I'm not kidding.

"OOH! OOH! S-SIS! THAT KID'S GOT A COLLAPSIBLE STAFF!"

Another student walked by, and her wide eyes followed eagerly.

"AND SHE'S GOT A FIRE SWORD!" Ruby gasped as she began to wander off.

Evie leaned close to Yang and asked, "Is she always like this around weapons?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Yang answered before grabbing Ruby by her hood, much to the amusement of the assassins.

"Ow, ow, ow..." Ruby exclaimed.

"Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons." Yang said.

Ruby seemed pretty offended by her comment. "JUST weapons?! They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!" she replied with a fangirl-like grin on her face.

"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?"

Ruby transformed her weapon, earning surprised looks from the assassins.

"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones! It's like meeting new people, but better." Ruby answered while cuddling her weapon.

Ezio chuckled while pulling down Ruby's hood. "Ruby, c'mon. Why don't you go try to make some friends of your own?"

Ruby looked to them and answered, "But why would I need friends when I have you guys?"

"Weeeellllactuallymyfriendsareherenowgottacatchupseeyoubye!" Yang quickly said before running off with a large group of students, leaving Ruby alone with a confused Arno Dorian.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going? Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?! …I dunno what I'm doing…" Ruby stuttered in confusion and after being rushed by the crowd of students.

Arno was caught in the chaos, too, and was left dazed and confused.

Ruby fell over in a daze, and landed in one of those carrying things at hotels for suitcases (whatever they're called), knocking over a pile of white briefcases. As Ruby came to, she was hearing a shrill voice scolding her, and as she opened her eyes, she saw a girl in a white skirt yelling at her with cold, blue eyes. Her long, white hair was done up in a ponytail on the side of her head, and a rapier was at her waist, but judging from the revolver barrel at the hilt, Ruby could tell this wasn't an ordinary sword.

"What are you doing?!"

"Uh… sorry!" Ruby tried to apologize, but the girl wasn't having any of it.

"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?!" Weiss yelled at her again.

Ruby picked up a suitcase, before Weiss took it from her. "Give me that!"

She opened the case, revealing multiple colored vials and crystals. "This is dust mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry." Weiss explained.

Ruby was still coming to her senses and barely processed her words while Arno was beginning to come to his.

"Uhh..."

However, Weiss was impatient and continued to lecture the girl while removing a vial. "What are you, brain dead?! Dust! Fire! Water! Lightning! Energy!" Weiss shook the vial to further emphasize her point, but failed to notice some Dust escape the vial as a cloud of dust wandered over to Ruby.

"Uuuhhhhah…ah…ah" Ruby was still stunned and as the dust came to her nose, her nose began to flinch as she started to breathe in the unstable minerals.

Weiss, still angry didn't notice her situation and continued to scold her. "Are you even listening to me?! Is any of this sinking in? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!" Weiss shook the vial one last time, and that was the last straw.

Ruby couldn't hold it in anymore, and sneezed loudly, igniting the dust cloud and creating a giant explosion of fire and ice (however that even works) where they were standing.

Arno immediately snapped out of his daze as he heard the terrific bang behind him. He saw a girl in a red hood being scolded by this one girl in white. He was still confused as to what the hell was going on, but he had a feeling it had something to do with that vial of dust rolling around.

The vial stopped at the boot of a certain black-haired girl reading a book. She had a bow on her head and amber eyes. She looked over to the scene in front of her, and then at Arno. He noticed this and just shrugged. Blake picked up the vial and looked at the famous snowflake symbol.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" Weiss continued to yell at Ruby, who was looking like a kicked puppy at this point.

"I'm really, really sorry!" Ruby tried to apologize but honestly, this was a Schnee she was trying to apologize to, so naturally, she was still upset.

"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" Weiss continued, noting her age.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know. We're here to fight monsters, so watch where you're going!" Weiss scolded her.

Arno was getting tired of this banter however, and spoke up, "Hey princess, she said sorry so why don't you just leave her alone?"

Weiss raised a finger to object the assassin's words before Blake piped up. "It's heiress actually. Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

Weiss, impressed by Blake's words said, "Finally! Some recognition."

Arno however, spoke up. "Honestly, you'd have to travel pretty far to meet someone who didn't know you, and even further to meet someone who'd think your company's got the right idea with Faunus labor and shady business partners."

Weiss was offended, naturally and stuttered, "Wha-h-how dare…!"

Blake looked on with a smug grin, while Ruby was quietly snickering at the scene. Weiss slapped Arno on the cheek so hard the smack could shatter glass, as he sprawled over the road, stunned. Weiss then strutted up to Blake, took back the vial of dust she had and stormed off into the campus.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby called out to Weiss, but her words fell on stubborn ears, as she didn't listen.

Ruby sulked for a minute, before remembering Blake. "So, what's…"

Blake had walked off, and Arno was still on the floor with a scarlet mark on his cheek. Ruby collapsed on the road with disappointment.

"Welcome to Beacon…" She said to herself quietly.

She then noticed a young man walk up to her, offering a hand. He had a friendly smile, blonde hair, and white armor covering his chest and biceps. He was wearing a black hoodie and ripped jeans, as well as fingerless gloves. He also had a sword sheathed at his side.

"Hey, I'm Jaune." He said in a polite voice.

"Ruby." She introduced herself while grabbing Jaune's hand and letting him help her up. The pair then helped up the assassin, who still was grasping his sore face.

"Damn, that woman packs a punch! Oh, I'm Arno, by the way." Arno managed to say through clenched teeth.

Ruby then noticed where she had seen Jaune before. "Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

Jaune stared at her with disappointment before walking through the courtyard with her and Arno.

30 seconds later…

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune tried to explain to Ruby.

"Look, I'm sorry. Vomit-boy was the first thing that came to mind." Ruby apologized.

"Oh, yeah? What if I called you Crater-face?" Jaune threw back at her.

Ruby's face turned red as she heard Arno snickering beside her. "H-hey, that explosion was an accident!"

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it!" Jaune said confidently while gesturing to himself.

Arno simply raised his eyebrow at him. "Oh, do they?"

"T-they will." Jaune replied. "I mean I hope they will. I mean, my mom always says that… Never mind."

Ruby and Arno laughed to themselves at his words, before Ruby broke the silence.

"Sooo… I got this thing." Ruby brought out Crescent Rose, slamming the blade into the pavement, startling the boy.

"Whoa! I-is that a scythe?" Jaune sheepishly stammered.

"How the hell do you even carry that thing around?" Arno asked with concern.

"It's also a customizable, high impact velocity sniper rifle." Ruby explained further.

"Wha-?"

"It's also a gun." Ruby explained while cocking the weapon, emphasizing her point.

"Oh. That's cool!" Jaune said with an impressed look on his face.

"So what've you got?" Ruby asked the knight with excitement.

"Oh. Uh, I got this sword." Jaune pulled out his double-edged sword from his sheath. The blade was long and sharp with elegant craftsmanship, but considering this was Remnant of all places, Arno couldn't help but feel a bit underwhelmed, but he was impressed anyway.

"Ooooh…" Ruby exclaimed as she studied the blade in awe.

"Yeah, I've got a shield too!" Jaune pulled out his sheath, transforming it into a white shield with a golden symbol decorating the front.

"So, what do they do?" Ruby asked him while stroking the shield, accidentally flipping a button. The shield contracted into its sheath form, causing Jaune to fumble around trying to catch it, earning a chuckle from the assassin.

"Well…t-the shield gets smaller…So when I get tired of carrying it, I can always…put it away…" Jaune explained.

"But wouldn't it weigh the same?" Arno asked.

"Yeah it does." Jaune admitted in disappointment.

"So Arno, what've you got?" Ruby asked the hooded man.

"What? Oh. I got this sword." He unsheathed his cutlass, earning gasps from Ruby at its designs.

"And this thing here." He showed off his phantom blade, altering the mechanisms to reveal its firing mode. Ruby remembered Altaïr using a similar blade to save her life.

"I can use it to catch enemies off guard or hit them from afar."

"Cool…"

Ruby never could have imagined the thought of hidden blades and how efficient they could be when she really thought about it.

"I also got this." Arno unslung his guillotine gun, the sight of which made Ruby drool.

"What is it?" Ruby asked eagerly.

"I can shoot mortar shells from the top, and I can also fight with the axe blades." Arno explained.

Jaune and Ruby gasped in amazement. "Did you make that by yourself?" Ruby asked Arno.

"Oh, no! It was a gift from a friend. I think his name was Leonardo."

Ruby blinked once. Twice. Then let out a fangirl scream for the heavens.

"OMIGOSH YOU KNOW LEONARDO DA VINCI?! THE SINGLE BEST WEAPONS DESIGNER IN REMNANT?! HOW DID YOU MEET HIM?! IS HE IN VALE?! OMIGOSH, OMIGOSH, OMIGOSH!" Ruby squealed in excitement.

Jaune simply leaned in close to Arno while Ruby was fangirling her heart out, "Uh, who?"

"Leonardo da Vinci. Weapons designer, inventor and painter. My friend Ezio's his childhood friend." Arno elaborated for Jaune.

"Ah."

Ruby had collapsed in exhaustion, before Arno helped her up with a grin on his face.

"Heh, sorry about that. I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. I guess I did go a little overboard in designing Crescent Rose." Ruby said with an embarrassed blush on her face.

Jaune looked impressed. "Wait. You made that?"

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?" Ruby asked Jaune.

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war." Jaune answered the girl.

"Hmm, sounds more like a family heirloom to me!" Ruby said, looking on the positive side as usual. Arno nodded in agreement.

"I like it. People these days don't have a taste for the classics. Everything just has to also be a gun." Arno said.

"Yeah, classics." Jaune muttered with a smile on his face.

"So why'd you help us back there in the courtyard?" asked Ruby.

Jaune just shrugged and answered, "Meh, why not? My mom always says, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."

Arno chuckled in agreement, while thinking to himself, " _Hehehe, yeah…he's gonna die here_."

"Hmmm… hey, where are we going?" Ruby suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, I dunno. I was following you!" Jaune answered.

The trio paused in awkward silence when they realized they had no idea where they were going.

"Y-you think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? A sort of recognizable landmark?" Jaune tried to break the silence, while Ruby just snickered under her lips.

"I-is that a no?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Arno answered him.

Arno then looked up on one of the arches, seeing an Eagle circling a particular ledge. He smiled, and told Ruby and Jaune, "Wait here. I'm gonna look."

Ruby just stood there watching as the assassin scaled the arch with several short leaps, and soon he was free-running several meters above the courtyard. He stopped at the ledge, and knelt down on one knee.

Arno closed his eyes to concentrate, and then opened them again to study his surroundings. He then activated his Eagle Vision, seeing the assembly hall glow a magnificent gold. After he synchronized, he looked up at the bird of prey circling him, then down to see a convenient pile of leaves stacked up at the bottom of the arch.

Ruby was confused as to what the hell Arno was doing up there, but her silver eyes widened as he raised his arms and fell forward, almost as if he was committing suicide. But her worry was replaced with bewilderment as the assassin landed in a pile of leaves, and emerged unscathed, as if his fall was cushioned by that pile of leaves, which would break the laws of physics altogether.

Arno walked up to the stunned pair before gesturing to their destination. "C'mon. I know where we gotta go. Why the face? C'mon!"

Ruby and Jaune looked at each other, then Ruby just shrugged it off before following the assassin, with Jaune joining them.

Assembly Hall, Beacon Academy

The three students walked in the hall, seeing a massive crowd of teens from different walks of life, and just then Ruby heard her sister call out, "Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!"

"Oh! Hey, gotta go. See you after the ceremony!" Ruby said to Jaune before leaving.

"H-hey wait! Sooo… wh-" Jaune looked to his side to see that Arno had walked off too.

Jaune sighed before saying out loud, "Great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?"

But little did he know that as he was saying this, a girl with red hair done up in a ponytail and dressed in bronze armor blinked her green eyes at the boy, eyeing him with interest.

"Where have you been?" Adéwalé asked the Frenchman.

"Oh you tell me, buddy. You weren't the one trampled by a crowd and left behind!" Arno retaliated with annoyance.

"Well, at least you met new friends." Altaïr said calmly, gesturing to Ruby and Jaune.

Arno looked back at the two, and sighed, "Yeah, this is gonna be one hell of a year."

Yang asked Ruby, "So, how's your first day going, little sister?"

"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?" Ruby answered with annoyance.

Yang cringed at her answer, "Yikes, meltdown already?"

Ruby protested, "No, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice?"

Yang leaned in close with a smirk, "Are you being sarcastic?"

Ruby answered, "Ugh, I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me! And then I sneezed, and then I EXPLODED, and then she yelled again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"

Altaïr piped up, "Girl with a white dress?"

"Yeah, actually."

Ezio interjected, "Single ponytail on the side?"

"Yeah! Ho-"

Connor continued, "Cold blue eyes that look as if they could freeze your soul by them staring at you?"

"Umm… YEAH! How do you all… she's right behind me, isn't she?"

"Yep." Edward finished.

"YOU!"

"Oh God, It's happening again!" Ruby screamed as she leapt into Yang's arms.

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of a cliff!" Weiss scolded her again.

"Oh God, you really exploded." Yang said.

"I-it was an accident! It was an accident!" Ruby insisted, before Weiss held up a pamphlet in front of her.

"What's this?"

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustainable while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. AlthoughnotmandatorytheSchneefamilyhighlyencouragesourcustomerstorefamiliarizethemselveswiththiseasytofollowguidetodustapplicationandpracticeinthefield."

Ruby didn't quite process the last part because she zoned out, and only could mutter, "Uuh…"

"Do you really wanna start making things up to me?" Weiss asked her with a commanding voice.

"Absolutely!" Ruby meekly answered.

"Read this and don't ever speak to me again." Weiss said as she shoved the pamphlet into Ruby's hands.

"Look, sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you just start over and try to be friends, okay?" Yang interjected, trying to make the situation better.

Ruby rose up and asserted herself. "Yeah! Great idea, sis. (ahem), Hello Weiss, I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We could go shopping for school supplies!" she introduced herself while extending a hand.

"Yeah! And we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys, like tall, blonde and uh-scraggly over there!" Weiss replied sarcastically, while gesturing to Jaune in the background.

"Hm?" Jaune and Edward perked up at the last part. Yang, however quickly punched Edward in the shoulder, sending him down like a ragdoll.

"Wow! Really?" Ruby asked with excitement.

Weiss's expression turned colder as she answered, "No."

Ruby hung her head in disappointment as Ozpin cleared his throat on the stage.

"(ahem) I'll… keep this brief. You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." Ozpin began into the microphone, filling the students with pride, especially Ruby.

The man then changed his tone of voice. "However I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this. But your time in this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." Ozpin finished his speech.

"BOO! (thwack)"

Jacob's voice was heard, but when Ruby looked back, he was lying face-first on the ground with a rather large bump on his head. Evie was right beside him, holding her cane in one hand and her other hand pinching her nose in embarrassment.

Ozpin walked off, and Glynda spoke into the microphone. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

The crowd dispersed, but Yang spoke up. "He seemed…off."

"It's almost like he wasn't even there." Ruby finished for her.

"I'm a natural blonde, you know!" Jaune said as he leaned in close to Weiss, who faceplamed.

Ballroom, Beacon Academy

The students all gathered in the room, some were asleep, while others were getting ready. Some were talking, others minding their own business.

Ruby was writing in a small notepad in her pajamas.

"It's like a BIIIIIG slumber party!" Yang exclaimed as she slammed down on her mattress.

"Don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though." Ruby said quietly.

Yang's voice turned sultry as she replied, "I know I do."

She glanced over and purred at some shirtless guys play wrestling and giving each other noogies, but she had to admit, the real view was over with the assassins.

Altaïr didn't change out of his outfit, and was asleep in the corner with his hood covering his face. Ezio didn't have his shirt on, revealing his muscle and toned physique. He was also flirting with some girls, earning blushes and giggles. Connor was getting out of the bathroom. He had a very stocky and built frame, but wore his vest over it. His muscles were marked in tribal paint and the darkness of his skin complemented his black hair. Edward was pretty ripped, but what got Yang's attention were the tattoos marking his arms and clean chest. He also wore a necklace adorned with shark teeth. Jacob didn't have a shirt on either, revealing his muscular build and a bird tattoo on his chest, and was talking with Evie, who wore a tattered shirt that hang loose from her shoulders and wrapping around her forearms. Arno and Adéwalé were asleep and in their individual outfits, both snoring like Ursas.

Yang looked on while fighting the urge to stick her hand down her shorts, but that faded when Jaune walked by wearing… a blue onsie with bunny slippers.

Yang winced at the sight of the boy's attire, before looking over to her sister. "What's that?"

"Oh, a letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going." Ruby said.

"Awwwwww, that's so CUUUUUUUTTEEE-" Yang squealed only to receive a flying pillow to her face.

"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!" Ruby growled at her sister.

"What about Jaune? He's…nice. There you go! Plus one friend! That's a 100% increase! Or Arno? He seems cool!" Yang cheerfully stated.

Ruby just sulked in her bed, "Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend…"

"There's no such thing as a negative friend! You just made two friends and one enemy!" Yang remarked with her cheery tone, getting another pillow thrown at her face.

Yang removed the pillow from her face and comforted her sister. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me, you've got friends all around you. You just haven't met them yet."

Ruby sat up and noticed a familiar girl reading in the corner, with Connor walking up to her, seemingly greeting her. Ruby guessed that maybe the two knew each other before coming here.

"That girl…" Ruby muttered softly.

"You know her?" Yang asked.

"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything." Ruby answered.

"Well, now's your chance!" Yang said, grabbing Ruby by her hand.

"W-wait! What are you doing?" Ruby exclaimed in surprise.

Blake looked up from her book to see Yang walking toward her with the widest grin on her face, dragging a struggling Ruby by the hand.

"Hellooooo!" Yang greeted the girl with a bubbly tone. "I believe you two may know each other?"

Connor looked up to face the two sisters with an eyebrow raised.

Blake glanced to Ruby and asked, "Aren't you that girl that exploded?"

"Uhh, yeah! My name's Ruby. But you can just call me…crater… actually you can just call me Ruby." Ruby stammered awkwardly.

"Ratonhnhaké:ton." Connor introduced himself.

"Uh…what?" Ruby asked, confused by the mouthful of a name.

"Call him Connor. It's easier that way." Blake spoke up from her book.

Yang asked the girl, "So… what's your name?"

"Blake." She answered in a monotone voice.

"Well Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister! I like your bow! It goes great with your… pajamas!" Yang replied cheerfully.

"…Right." Blake said awkwardly, seemingly with little interest.

"Uh, nice night, don't you think?" Yang asked Blake.

"Yes, it's lovely. Almost as lovely this book…" Blake answered for them.

"…that I will continue to read…"

More awkward silence followed.

"…as soon as you leave."

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause." Yang muttered to her sister.

"What's it about?" Ruby piped up.

"Huh?"

"Your book. Does it have a name?" Ruby asked Blake.

"Well, it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." Blake answered Ruby.

"Oh, yeah… that's real lovely." Yang responded with a hint of sarcasm.

"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed." Ruby recounted.

The two faunus looked at her, obviously interested in her words.

"Stories of heroes and monsters… They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress." Ruby said with eyes shimmering with hope and wonder.

Connor asked her in his deep voice, "And why would that be? So we can all live a happy life with a storybook ending?"

"I'm hoping we all will! As a girl, I wanted to be just like the heroes in those books. Someone who fought for what was right, and who protected people who couldn't protect themselves." Ruby answered the young man.

"That's very ambitious for a person your age." Blake told her.

"However, it's a cruel world out there, and not all of us have a happy story to tell." Blake continued, gesturing to Connor, whose dark eyes flared with grim recollection of his past.

"Well, that's why we're here. To make it better!" Ruby replied.

"Oh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang squealed as she lifted Ruby in a bear hug.

"CUT IT OUT!" Ruby yelled at her, as the two began to play fight.

"Ruby, Yang…" Blake began before she was interrupted.

"What in the world is going on over here?!" Weiss interjected.

"You do know that some of us are trying to get some rest?" Ezio spoke from behind them with a raspy, tired voice.

Ezio noticed Weiss and said, "Well, wasn't expecting to see you here of all places."

Weiss just ignored him and jabbed a finger at the two sisters. "And you! Don't you know some of us are trying to sleep?"

Yang turned and recognized her, and Weiss the same. "OH, NOT YOU AGAIN!" Both girls yelled in unison.

"Shh! Guys, she's right. People are trying to sleep!" Ruby reminded the pair.

"Oh, now you're on my side!" Weiss exclaimed.

"I was always on your side!" Ruby insisted.

"Yeah! What's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang growled at the heiress.

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss threw back.

Blake, however, blew out her candle. She wasn't getting any privacy, so she would sleep instead. Weiss went back to bed, but as Ruby was about to leave, Ezio placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm Ezio, by the way." The assassin introduced himself to the girl.

"Ruby. Just curious here, but do you know Weiss?" Ruby asked Ezio.

"Hmm, yeah. She's got quite the attitude, but nothing I haven't seen before." Ezio admitted.

"I'm guessing you haven't met my friends yet?" Ezio asked Ruby.

"Yeah, they seem like nice people." Ruby told him.

Ezio chuckled at her words. "Trust me, they can be the opposite of nice if they want to. Some of them just can't help it."

Ruby looked to Altaïr sleeping in the corner, recognizing him from that encounter with the Beowolves. "Hey, what's his name?" Ruby asked, while pointing towards the man.

Ezio smiled and answered, "That's Altaïr. He's a good friend, even with his flaws." He smiled, remembering how he had Altaïr help him when he began his training.

Ruby looked with interest, wondering if she could be friends with him. But she went down to her bed and lied down.

Before Ezio went back to his sleeping bag, he turned to Ruby and told her, "Hey, if you want, I could introduce you to the crew tomorrow. I'm sure they'll be quite fond of you."

Ruby sat up from her pillow, processing his words, before lying down and closing her eyes with a smile growing on her face. " _Looks like making friends isn't that hard after all."_ Ruby thought to herself and then drifting off into deep slumber. They all had a big day ahead of them.

 **Up next: Initiation!**

 ***Viva turns to see the pitchforks and torches**

 **Look, I'm sorry that I took that long to update this story. This chapter was twice as long as most of what I've written (mostly because it covered two episodes. My term break is around the corner, meaning more projects were due in. I found little time to write, but I pulled through, and I hope you guys like what I've ended up with. Leave a review (please, it really helps!), leave suggestions and be patient for future updates! PEACE!**

 **Guest**

 **I am glad you gave the Assassins Transforming weapons. I was kind of concerned last chapter with Edward Kenway using weapons that would would be considered outdated in Remnant.**

 **Oh and I suggest perhaps Jacob Frye X Nora?**

 **Oh and PLEASE put in Jack the Ripper!**

 **Oh and keep up the good work.**

… **Yeah, I guess pistol swords seemed outdated, but this story's still young, and Leonardo didn't die yet, so who knows? Maybe he'll get an upgrade! Also, I love Ren and Nora WAY TOO FUCKING MUCH and I just can't pair Nora with anyone else. (however, I can see totally this happening, and I think it would be both a glorious and stupid idea. They'll probably be extremely good friends, nothing much more.) Jack WILL BE IN THE STORY. Be patient, my friends. Be patient.**

 **The Baz**

 **Dude Shay and Cinder ftw!**

 **I KNOW, RIGHT?!**

 **Batmd**

 **Are you going to put the rooks in this story**

 **Yes. Eventually.**

 **Emiliano733**

 **Hello, nice chapter.I'm very curious to see the new team and their fights, and maybe them teach some lesson to Jaune. Se you to next update.**

 **P.s. exactly whath's the difference beetween eagle's eye and Ezio's semblance?**

 **Thanks! Jaune could use some assassin training. PS, Ezio's semblance is both Eagle Sense, and it helps him react to danger quicker and giving him faster reflexes, like Spider Sense. He can also sense other's emotions and thoughts to a minor extent.**

 **Guest**

 **So no jackdaw ? Or will he get it back**

 **You'll just have to wait and find out, my friend.**

 **HeyMrJack33**

 **This chapter was fucking great man. I do wish there was a bit more focus on Adewale, Jacob, Evie, and Arno but I think you did a wonderful job. Good job man, keep up the fantastic work, can't wait to see more.**

 **Thank you so much! By the way, it is pretty difficult to make time for each assassin when there are eight in one story. Nevertheless, I'll try. Thanks!**


	7. Taking Flight

Ballroom, Beacon Academy

Lie Ren was stirring early in the morning, and when he opened his eyes to welcome the warmth of sunlight, he saw her up and awake with a gigantic grin on her face, as always.

"Waaaaake up, ya lazy butt!" Nora cheerily exclaimed.

Ren got up from his bed, tired but got his stuff ready and walked to the bathroom. Behind him, Nora was her usual hyperactive self, singing with a lively skip.

"It's morning, it's morning, it's mooooorning, iiiiit's MORNING!" Nora sang as she casually followed the boy into the bathroom.

At first glance it would seem very unlikely for the stoic and soft-spoken Mistralian to be best friends with the bubbly, hyperactive gremlin of a child, but Nora Valkyrie was a very close friend. Ren and her went very far back and both of them looked out for each other through thick and thin, considering the fact that both of them were orphans. She may be a handful, but Ren learned to live with it. After all, they were best friends.

On the other side of the room, Evie was poking Jacob with her finger, trying to get him to wake up, but he wouldn't get up and unconsciously swatted away at her hand. Evie sighed and picked up Jacob's hat beside him. She raised her foot above it, seemingly about to stomp on it.

"Hey, Jacob!" She called to him.

Jacob's eyes blinked open and saw his sister about to step on his precious top hat. His eyes shot wide open and he rose up with a start.

"No… you wouldn't dare, you monster!" Jacob said grimly, as if his hat was being taken hostage.

Evie raised an eyebrow and lowered her foot to lightly touch the surface of the headwear. "Try me, dear brother of mine."

Jacob gasped and began to drop on his knees. "No! Please! Take my coat! My money! Hell, take these!" He then ripped off his pants and held them out like a peace offering.

Evie stopped messing around at the sight of his dirty undergarments and held back a gag. "F-fine! You win! Just put some bloody pants on!" Evie passed Jacob his hat back and rushed to the bathroom to take a shower. Jacob grinned and put on his pants. He grabbed his toiletries and followed suit.

Ren got out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel, with Nora still waiting outside for him, blabbing nonstop.

"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full 24 hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything. I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm, well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know?" Nora chattered away while Ren brushed his teeth.

Just as the pair left, Jacob and Evie stepped out of the showers to dry up. Jacob stared at himself in the mirror, flexing and checking himself out with a smug grin. Evie put on her leather coat and grabbed her gloves, and then looked over at her brother.

Jacob noticed her and slyly grinned. "What's the matter? See something you like?"

Evie scoffed at his stupid gesture and threw his coat at his face. "Yeah, I do. That you're still an idiot."

Jacob laughed and put on his clothing before exiting the room with his twin.

"We've been friends for SOOOO long! What are the odds that we'd still be together? W-well not "together" together. Not that I'm saying you're not handsome! You are handsome, but that'd just be weird… right?" Nora continued on while brushing her hair outside. Ren simply listened calmly, most likely not processing her drabble.

Later the two were at the breakfast table with multiple students. Nora had a full pancake in her mouth, a mouth that was still chatting away. "Right. What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together."

She slurped up her pancake, somehow swallowing the thing whole. "Ooh! We should come up with some sort of plan! To make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster?! No. That wouldn't work, he has the school."

Jacob and Evie were walking down the hallway to their lockers to retrieve their gear. "So, sweet sister of mine, you excited to join your new team?" Jacob asked her.

Evie grinned and said, "I'd happily join any team other than yours."

Jacob said, "Too bad then, 'cuz I'm gonna be team leader!"

Evie snickered, then laughed out loud. "Oh, please. The day you become team leader is the day Altaïr laughs."

Evie walked ahead, and Jacob simply stared at her and said to himself, "Oh, I'm counting on it, woman."

Ren was retrieving his weapons from his locker. Stormflower, two green machine pistols with knife blades. Nora was still not-so-secretly discussing their plan to be on the same team. "I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal! (gasp) A SEEEECRET signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?"

"Nora?" Ren finally spoke.

Nora for once stopped talking and asked, "Yes, Ren?"

Ren stowed away his weapons and said calmly, "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."

Nora stared off into space for a minute. "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"

Ren shut his locker and walked away. "Come on, Nora."

"But not "together" together…" Nora said with a giggle.

Meanwhile, about a couple of feet away…

"What's up with those two?" Ruby asked her sister while watching Ren walk away with Nora skipping behind.

"Oh, who knows … So! You seem awfully chipper this morning!" Yang replied.

"Yep! No more awkward small talk and introductions. Today I get to let my sweetheart do the talking." Ruby said while cuddling Crescent Rose.

Edward was walking by with Altaïr, and noticed the two. Edward walked up to greet them, but stopped when he noticed Ruby cuddling her weapon like a baby. "Okay now that's just weird."

"I treat my weapons with respect, but that's new." Altaïr added.

"Morning, guys!" Edward called out to them.

"Oh, hey! Uh… what's up?" Ruby stammered as she dropped her scythe in surprise.

"So, we're gonna meet our teammates today! You excited?" Edward asked her.

"Yep! We finally get to fight Grimm! I've just been waiting so long for this moment." Ruby answered him.

Yang intervened. "Ruby… remember. You're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and to learn to work together."

Ruby groaned at her sister, "Ugh, you sound like dad! First of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And second of all, I don't need people to help me grow up! **I DRINK MILK!** "

Edward snickered at her words and said, "So anyway, Ezio told me that you wanted to meet my friends the other night?"

Ruby replied, "Umm, yeah actually."

"How 'bout I introduce you, lass?" Edward asked the girl.

"Sure! Why not?" Ruby said with a smile.

Yang beamed at Ruby. "See? I knew you'd break out of your shell eventually!"

Ruby yelped, "What the?! I never needed to break out of any kind of shell! That's absolutely…"

Literally a foot away…

"…ridiculous! There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high!" Jaune said to himself when he realized he forgot which locker was his.

Why does this have to happen today?..." Jaune groaned as he passed Weiss talking to a certain redhead, with Ezio sitting on a bench next to them.

"So Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you would like to be on?" Weiss asked the girl.

"Yes, of course. I'm sure anyone would love to be in your team considering your skill." Ezio added.

Pyrrha answered the two, "Hmm, I'm not quite sure. I was planning to let the chips fall where they may."

"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could be in a team together?" Weiss asked her.

"Well, that sounds grand!" Pyrrha responded.

"Great!" Weiss said before saying to herself ominously, " _This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together we'll be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now!"_

"You know what else is great? Me, Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you." Jaune said as he interrupted the two girls.

"Ugh, you again?" Weiss groaned at his appearance.

On the other hand, Pyrrha greeted him politely. "Nice to meet you, Jaune!"

Jaune however, only had eyes for the heiress. Pushing Pyrrha aside, he said to Weiss, "Yeah, yeah. So, Weiss! Couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day."

Ezio tried his best not to laugh out loud. I mean, did he _really_ believe that Weiss Schnee of all people would be interested in him? Ezio himself had a hard time getting her attention, and he was Ezio Auditore of all people!

"Oh, you've got to be kidding." Weiss groaned as she facepalmed at his advances.

"Oop, no need to be embarrassed! So, been hearin' rumors about teams! I was thinking you and I would make a good one! What do you say?" Jaune said to Weiss.

Pyrrha, on the other hand interrupted the two. "Actually, I think the teams are comprised of 4 students each, so…"

"You don't say…" Jaune smiled as he went up to Pyrrha. "Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team."

Weiss came up between the pair and said to the boy, "Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Not the slightest, snow angel." Jaune blankly responded.

Ezio raised an eyebrow. Pyrrha was quite well-known for her skills. Skills that even his own barely met. To hear somebody saying that they didn't know Pyrrha was quite strange.

"This is Pyrrha." Weiss gestured to Pyrrha.

"Hello again!"

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum." Weiss informed Jaune.

"Never heard of it." Jaune responded bluntly.

Weiss was getting confused. It was one thing to not recognize Pyrrha, but to have never heard of Sanctum Academy was just absurd.

"She's won the Mistral Regional Tournament 4 years in a row, a new record!" Weiss stated.

"The what?" Jaune replied, still confused.

Weiss was fuming with frustration and disbelief at his cluelessness, but Ezio interrupted her. "She's the on the cover of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes."

To this, Jaune reacted with starstruck glee. "(gasp) That's you?! They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you." Pyrrha replied.

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Weiss asked Jaune.

Jaune sighed and lowered his head in defeat. "I-I guess not. Sorry."

Pyrrha however, walked up to the knight and reassured him. "Actually Jaune, I think you'll make a great leader."

"D'oh, stop it!" Jaune adoringly replied.

Weiss on the other hand, still wouldn't have any of it. "Seriously, stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!"

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings. Find a place for you. What do you say?" Jaune said as he leaned in close to Weiss.

"Okay, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help please?!" Weiss exclaimed as she stepped away from Jaune.

Pyrrha threw her javelin at Jaune, pinning him against the wall by his hoodie. "I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized.

Just then, Glynda's voice was heard on the intercom. "Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

The students in the locker room began to get up and leave, and Pyrrha retrieved her weapon from Jaune. "It was nice meeting you!" Pyrrha said to the boy before she left.

"Likewise." Jaune replied with a sigh.

Ruby and Yang passed by with the assassins, with Ezio getting up. "Having some trouble there, lady killer? Yang jokingly asked Jaune.

"I don't understand... My dad said that all women look for is confidence. Where did I go wrong?" Jaune responded.

Ezio laughed and answered, "Your taste, your approach, "snow angel". Yeah, you have much to learn, my friend."

"Come on Jaune. Let's go." Ruby helped Jaune up and the two walked out of the room.

Beacon Cliff

The first year students were all gathered at a cliff on the outskirts of the campus, where the steep ledge dropped off into acres of forest. Each student was standing on the edge, each atop a stone slab with the Vale crest marked on it.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin said to the students while sipping from his mug.

Glynda continued for Ozpin. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be assigned teammates… Today."

Ruby whimpered worriedly as she heard this. She didn't like where this was going and she knew she wasn't good with teaming up with a random stranger who wasn't her friend.

Ozpin continued his speech. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

Ruby let out another whimper. This wasn't going to end well.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next 4 years." Ozpin finished.

Ruby's world shattered (almost literally) around her when she heard this. "WHAT?!" This was literally the worst-case scenario for her. She was already terrible with making friends, and she sure as hell wasn't happy with the chances of ending up with a total stranger for a partner.

Ozpin continued on with his instructions. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."

Jaune nervously gulped, but Jacob, Nora and Edward's expressions brightened up.

"Oh, that's an idea I can get behind." Jacob remarked.

Evie rolled her eyes, but smiled in amusement at her brother's words.

Ozpin ignored them and continued on. "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one, and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Jaune meekly raised his hand, "Yeah, um sir…"

Ozpin however, disregarded him and continued on. "Good! Now, take your positions."

Each student readied themselves. Yang raised her fists in a boxing stance, Jacob put away his hat and raised his hood. Altaïr knelt down with his head lowered, as if synchronizing. Ezio deployed his hookblades, Ren raised Stormflower, Evie primed her grappling hook, and Connor twirled his tomahawk in his hand.

Jaune, however was still skeptical. "Uh, sir? I've got a question."

Just then, Weiss was launched into the air, the stone slab she stood on catapulting her into the forest below. Altaïr followed, his arms outstretched, as if taking a leap of faith.

"So, this landing strategy thing, uh, w-what is it? You're like, dropping us off or something?" Jaune asked nervously.

"No. You will be falling." Ozpin deadpanned at him.

Ezio felt himself rise into the air, followed by Edward, who flailed around in the air from unpreparedness. Adéwalé held his blunderbuss with both hands and was catapulted into the forest, too. Nora, too was cast into the air followed by Ren.

"Oh, I see. So like, did you hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune asked again.

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy." Ozpin answered him.

"Uhhuh… Yeah." Jaune responded with dread and worry.

Jacob was thrown into the air with a loud whoop, followed by his sister. Arno was next, followed by Connor and Pyrrha. Yang winked at her sister before putting on a pair of aviator sunglasses, and she too was thrown into the forest, followed by Ruby.

Jaune was the last student standing at the cliff and raised his hand again. "So, um, what exactly is a landing strateGYYYYYYYYYY…" Jaune screamed out the last part loudly as he was flung from the cliff and sent plummeting into the vast wood below him.

Ozpin looked behind him to see the students falling down to the forest, showing a sly grin as he sipped from his mug.

"You're a sadist, you know that?" Glynda spoke into his ear.

Ozpin just nodded and sipped his coffee. "I know, Glynda. I know."

 **Up next: Landing strategies, Grimm and Assassiny stuff!**

 **(Viva pushes aside pitchfork at his face)**

 **I know, I know. Sorry I kept you waiting. I swear I will try to release my chapters at least weeks apart. It gets hard sometimes. I have work, I get distracted, or I just don't feel like writing at the moment. I promise you, I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. But first, I wanna say something. Reviews are very important to me. It's one thing to know someone is reading your story, but it's also another to hear your opinions on it, as well as suggestions! I read EVERY review that is posted on my story and check the profile of EVERY new person who faves/follows my story. Also: 5,000 VIEWS?! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Please tell me what you think and I will see you… in the next chapter! BYE-BYE!**

 **AmusedLight: I dunno if Élise is gonna be in this story, sorry.**

 **JackTheRipper01: Desmond most likely ain't gonna be in Remnant, but I have plans for this, and maybe Desmond will be here, just give me time to sort it out. JACK THE RIPPER IS IN THE STORY, PEOPLE! Soon… As for Lydia, not now. Maybe a future AU, but not here.**

 **Emiliano733: Awww, thanks, m8 (even if it's not the funniest)!**

 **Guest: Yes, Nassau will be in the story (but you will have to be very, VERY, patient).**

 **Guest: Hmm… I can totally see that happening! But first I wanna know something. I originally wanted Coco paired with Arno, and have her fulfill Élise's role in Arno's story. But I want to know from you guys, do you think Coco would be better with Arno or Jacob?**

 **Sam hill: Umm, I don't play For Honor. If you think it would work, make an account and write it yourself! Don't be shy!**

 **Guest: Yang could use gattling shotgun gauntlets….**

 **Guest: Actually, you're pretty spot-on for Edward's backstory!**

 **Guest: Edward's crew will come when the time is right, mein freund.**


	8. Of Partners and Landing Strategies

Emerald Forest, Beacon

The forest was shimmering in the sunlight, and the sky was blue. A small bird was flying through the gentle breeze, soaking in the cool brush of the wind with the warmth of the sun.

But as a red blur shot through the atmosphere, it hit the poor creature, causing it to explode in black feathers.

"Sorry!" Ruby called out behind her to the unfortunate creature.

As Ruby drew closer to the ground, she brought out her scythe and fired.

Once, twice, three times, she fired, slowing her descent with each bullet. She then changed her position so that her legs pointed down, and with her scythe ready, she hooked a passing branch and flipped into a safe landing.

Weiss however, was simple. She cast a glyph beneath her feet, allowing her to jump off of it, and leaping into another not far below, slowly bringing her to the forest floor.

Altaïr had time to prepare. After synchronizing, he found a landing spot. He was diving with his arms outstretched and his legs held together. He neared his target: a large pile of leaves lying just in the corner of the underbrush. He turned so his back faced down and made impact. The fall was a hard one, and what the leaves did not cushion, his aura protected.

Jacob and Evie were prepared. After liftoff, the two fired their rope launchers. One end at the slope of the cliff and another anchored on a far-off tree. Jacob rode his line down like a zipline, his gauntlet attaching him to the wire, and Evie held onto her cane as she went down into the forest. Mid-flight however, Jacob's line snapped and sent him falling through the canopy. Fortunately, he landed safely in a pond of water. He wiped himself off and ventured off into the unknown.

Ren knew he couldn't take a crash landing, and thankfully, he spotted a rather large tree. He held out Stormflower and once he passed the tree, he hooked his blades into the trunk, spiraling himself down to the ground. He dusted himself and ventured off to find Nora.

Adéwalé fired down with his gun, the force of the blast pushing him upwards and slowing his fall. He then lodged his blade into a nearby branch and got himself safely on the ground. Edward was caught off guard when sent flying, but easily adapted. He slammed his blades into a tree branch, and as the momentum sent him forward, he fired the weapons, pushing them off of the wood, and allowing him to land without injury.

Yang on the other hand, never felt more alive barreling through the sky like a rocket. She whooped joyfully as she fired down with her gauntlets, sending her up through the air faster and faster. She felt the wind blow through her hair as she slammed through some trees and leapt through the treetops before making her landing. "Nailed it!"

Ezio's brain worked quickly, and he remembered he brought his own landing strategy. He reached in his pocket and retrieved the parachute Leonardo gave him. He opened it, and floated down safely. He knew that technically this was cheating, but honestly, did he really care?

Arno felt the strong wind whip his ponytail and coat in the wind. He unslung his guillotine gun and aimed it downwards. As he neared the ground, he fired, the ensuing explosion propelling him through the canopy. He then lodged the axe blades into a tree trunk and pulled it loose, letting him hit the grassy soil.

Pyrrha held up her shield in front of her face, smashing through several trees, and landed atop a large branch, where she flicked her spear in her hand, turning it into a carbine rifle. She surveyed the area through the scope and spotted a blonde figure flailing around helplessly as he rocketed to the ground. Pyrrha blinked once, and twirled the gun in her hand, returning it into spear form. She held up her thumb to aim, and cast the weapon forward while pulling the trigger, the extra gunshot boosting the spear further.

A thunk against wood was heard along with Jaune's voice. "Thank you!"

Pyrrha called out waving her arm, "I'm sorry!"

She then climbed down in order to retrieve her weapon, as well as her potential partner.

Elsewhere…

Ruby touched down and sprinted through the underbrush, saying to herself, " _Gotta find Yang. Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta fiiiind…_." "Yang! YAAAAANG!" Ruby screamed out the last part, hoping her sister was somewhere in the area.

" _Ugh, this is bad, this is really bad! What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first?"_ Ruby worriedly thought to herself.

 _There's always Jaune…he's nice. He's funny! I don't think he's very good in a fight though. Altaïr? Nah. He doesn't seem very friendly. Edward's nice to me. But he's got that thing with Yang and it'll make it really awkward! Arno? Meh, I could roll with him. Ezio too! Ooh! What about Blake? So mysterious, so calm. Plus, she likes books! Well, then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her. What about her friend? What's his name again? Rah-doon…uhhh… Ooh! Connor! He's, err… No, he doesn't seem the cheery type. Evie? She's very nice! She'd work! Jacob's funny! Adéwalé? He's cool, plus he's kind. Yeah!"_ Ruby excitedly recounted as she thought of her friends.

" _Let's see. Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, and…"_ As Ruby was about to recount the last name, she just so happened to stumble upon Weiss walking through the forest. She skidded to a stop, wide ice-blue eyes meeting silvery gray.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Weiss frowned and turned the other way. "Wait, where are you going?" Ruby yelled out at her.

"We're supposed to be teammates…" Ruby whimpered quietly.

Weiss pushed through the foliage, hoping to find a partner (note: a suitable partner). She brushed leaves off of her dress, and looked up to see Jaune, pinned to a tree trunk by his hoodie from Pyrrha's spear. The young man was trying to free himself by pulling the weapon, but to no avail.

Noticing Weiss below him, he laughed sheepishly with a wave. Weiss simply turned back and dragged Ruby by her hood. "By no means does this make us friends."

"You came back!" Ruby cheered with joy as the pair disappeared into the brush.

Jaune yelled out, "Hey, wait! Come back! Who's gonna get me down from here?"

"Jaune?" He heard a voice call below him.

"Do you…have any spots left on your team?" Pyrrha asked him.

"Haha, very funny…" Jaune responded with a pout, but smiling kindly at her, which Pyrrha returned.

Elsewhere in the forest...

Connor leapt from branch to branch, trying to find someone to partner up with. He hoped that he would find one of his Assassin brethren or hopefully, Blake.

Then, he heard a rustling in the bushes below him and he unsheathed his sword, flicking it to turn it into his bow. He drew an arrow and aimed with unblinking eyes flaring with deep focus.

However, a small bird emerged from the bush, and Connor drew a long breath of relief before putting his bow back. He turned around, and saw it. Bared fangs and open claws were in his face, pushing him to the ground. The Beowolf pinned Connor to the ground by his chest, but Connor drew his hidden blade and stabbed it into the Grimm's nape.

It fell dead, but he heard more howls and snarls around him. He brought out his tomahawk in a battle stance, and just as the beasts came forward, he ran forward with a battle cry and charged.

One Beowolf tried to slam down on the man, but he swung his tomahawk up, deflecting the blow, and slicing at the creature's neck with his hidden blade. Another wolf attacked from behind with a pounce, so he gathered his aura into his arm and slammed down at it with his tomahawk, the force driving the wolf into the ground, with its entire head cut in two with the bony face-plate split as well.

As he continued to fight, a pair of Grimm attempted to attack him from behind, but a pair of gunshots sounded, killing both beasts. Edward leapt from a tree and stabbed down a Beowolf with his swords. Connor looked behind him to see Edward, and he smiled. "Nice running into you." He said to his cousin.

"Good, because now you're stuck with me for four years, mate." Edward replied with a chuckle.

Edward charged and swung one cutlass down at a Grimm's neck, spinning around and slamming the other blade through a wolf's shoulder. He then ran up to a pair of Grimm, leaping on the first one's head and firing his swords down, killing it while boosting himself up a bit. As he jumped, he held his blades in a scissor position and as he neared the ground, swung his arms outwards, slicing the Grimm's head clean off. A Beowolf attempted a surprise attack from behind the pirate, but he raised a sword, chopping into the Grimm's arm. He then stabbed his sword up its chin and fired, killing it instantly.

Edward shot to the right of him, hitting a Beowolf in the head, and thrusted a sword to his left, stabbing a Grimm's face. Connor nimbly moved through the pack, hacking off one Grimm's legs with his sword and chopping down at the back of its neck with his tomahawk. Then Connor threw the axe towards a Beowolf heading for him. It impacted between its jaws, cutting through the lower jaw. The wolf yowled in pain, but still charged. Edward however, managed to pierce the creature's neck with his sword and fired, blowing the head into the air. Connor ran and intercepted his weapon still attached in mid-air, and as the wolf's remains evaporated, he sliced open an attacking Beowolf's throat with a backhand swing behind him, and finished it off by repeatedly chopping down at its head.

The rest of the Grimm began to retreat, disappearing into the foliage. But Connor knew better. "More will be on the way. We need to move," he told Edward.

"You know where we need to go, right mate?" Edward asked Connor.

"He said to travel north, right?" Connor replied. Edward nodded in response. The two looked up at the sun, and down at the shadows of the trees. Connor was raised by a hunting tribe, so he knew how to find his way in the wild. Edward grew up in Nassau of all places, where he had to fend for himself on "the Pirate Island". He was also familiar with a steering wheel; meaning Edward had a good sense of direction and navigation.

They then looked to each other and nodded. "Lead the way then." Edward said to Connor.

The two then ran off towards the north, vanishing in the thick vegetation.

Somewhere else…

"What's the hurry?" Ruby asked her apparent partner.

"I won't let my mission be delayed because you're too slow!" Weiss barked at her.

Weiss groaned. "I swear, if I get a bad grade because of you-"

Ruby suddenly was in front of her with an adorkable smile on her face, stunning the heiress.

"I'm not slow, see? You don't need to worry about me! Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to take care of myself. You're about to see a whole different side of me today!" Ruby cheerily said to Weiss, holding her by the shoulder.

"And after it's all over, you're gonna be like "Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cooool… and I wanna be her friend!" Ruby finished before zipping off.

Weiss groaned and shouted out, "Hey, we do need to stick together, you know? Come on, we're wasting time!"

She heard some rustling in the bushes around her, and glowing red peered from the foliage.

"Ruby?" Weiss called out, her hand reaching for her sword. Then she heard deep growling and snarling, and saw a Beowolf emerge from the bushes. The creature stood on its hind legs, long arms lined with bone spikes, and its face covered by a stark-white plate exposing its sinister red eyes.

"RUBY!" She called out one more time, as the pack rushed at her.

But suddenly, a figure in white descended from the trees, pinning down two Beowolves. Ezio got up and pulled his hidden blades from the creature's bodies.

"Well, what are the odds... " Weiss commented.

" _Buongiorno_ , fair damsel in distress." Ezio replied jokingly with a bow.

"Say, do you-" Weiss began.

"Oh, no! I''ve got a partner." Ezio answered her, turning to the treetops.

As if on cue, an arrow shot down from the leaves, killing a Beowolf making for Ezio. Altaïr's form revealed itself from the branches, holding his crossbow in his hands, and saluting to the two.

Ruby returned, fumbling with her belt. "Sorry! I needed a pee break!"

She stared at the newcomer, and his partner, who air-assassinated a passing Grimm. "Oh! Hey, guys!" She giddily waved at them.

Ezio drew his sabre, and said to his friends, "So, shall we?"

The group stood in position, backs turned against each other in a circle with the pack closing in on them, and Weiss smiled (FOR ONCE!) and replied, "Gladly."

Another place in the forest…

"HELLOOOOO!" Yang yelled out into the distance as she walked through the forest, hoping someone would hear her.

"Is anyone out there? HELLOOOOOOOOO? I'm getting bored here." Yang loudly shouted out, but to no avail.

But she soon heard rustling in the bushes, and peered through the foliage. "Ruby, is that you?"

Yang looked up at a snarling noise, and answered herself, "Nope."

She rolled to the side, dodging a swing from an Ursa that lunged from the bushes. Yang activated her gauntlets and leapt backwards to dodge another swipe from the Grimm. She drew back her fist and unleashed a punch at the Ursa, and fired her gauntlets, sending it flying backwards. A second Ursa appeared, and Yang simply uppercutted it in the jaw and kicked, knocking it on its back.

"You by any chance happen to have seen a little girl in a red hood 'round here?" Yang jokingly asked them.

One of the Ursa simply roared in response and swiped its claws repeatedly at Yang. Dodging all of them, Yang just laughed. "Geez, you guys couldn't hit the right side of a-"

Yang stopped to notice a small strand of her blonde hair float in front of her and down to the grass. Yang clenched her fist and her eyes turned red. Nobody touched her hair. "You...You MONSTER!"

She exploded in a fireball of anger and burst toward the Grimm with her fists drawn back. She punched one Ursa and uppercutted it into the air. Firing behind her to boost herself forward, Yang unleashed a devastating combo of punches, killing the beast from blunt force, sending it through a bunch of trees trailing fire.

But then she heard two more Ursa emerge from the brush. She looked angrily at her opponents and held her arms open, like she was challenging them. "What?! You want some too?!"

The Grimm roared, but a metallic _shink_ was heard, and the Grimm collapsed, with Blake standing behind it, retrieving her pistol's blade from the Grimm's body and smiling at Yang.

The remaining two Grimm furiously growled, but one of them was instantly silenced and fell on its belly, to reveal the back of its neck pierced by a small blade. Behind was Arno holding up his arm, his phantom blade collapsing into its inactive mode. A loud bang followed and the last Grimm's head was blown to bits. The body collapsed, and behind was Adéwalé, holding a smoking blunderbuss.

"I didn't need help, you know." Yang insisted.

"Sure you didn't." Arno sarcastically replied.

(Obligatory scene transition)…

Ezio, Ruby, Weiss and Altaïr were fighting furiously, but the Beowolves just kept appearing and they could not fight them all.

Weiss stood ready, holding up her blade. " _Remember your training, Weiss._ " She said inwardly.

" _Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward, not THAT forward._ " She thought as she adjusted her posture.

" _Aaaaand…"_ Weiss held up her rapier, the revolving chamber spinning.

" _Now!"_ Weiss zipped towards one of the wolves, only to see Ruby attacking the same target. Unable to contain her attack, she stumbled, attempting to stop, and her sword unleashed a powerful wave of fire, igniting a tree and spreading through the trees around them.

Another Beowolf swiped at Ruby's scythe, knocking her into Weiss.

"Hey, watch it!" She growled at the heiress.

"Excuse me! You attacked out of turn! I could have killed you!" Weiss yelled back.

"Now is not the time to be arguing! We're in the middle of a battle here!" Altaïr yelled at the pair in frustration.

The group assumed their positions, and saw the pack was only growing, and the forest around them was starting to catch more fire.

"Now seems like a good time to leave." Ezio said to the group. They all nodded and retreated to a nearby hill as the burnt trees began to fall over.

Panting heavily, Ruby piped up. "What was that?! That should've been easy!"

"Well perhaps if you had exercised the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!" Weiss scolded her.

Ezio just stood there awkwardly, listening to the two argue back and forth, while Altaïr had climbed a tree to find their destination.

"I'm just surprised that such a chatterbox would communicate so little in battle!" Weiss yelled at her.

"Well, I'm sorry that you need my help to win a fight! I'm just fine by myself!" Ruby threw back.

"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo." Weiss sarcastically said before walking off.

Ruby yelled out in frustration, and swiped with Crescent Rose, chopping down a nearby tree. Ezio put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, kid. We still got a long way to go. You can still prove yourself."

"Prove myself? I'm just fine! Worry about her!" Ruby replied.

"Trust me. You've just met her. It's still a long year and there's still a chance she'll warm up to you." Ezio reassured her.

Ruby managed a smile. "Okay, I guess you're right."

Just then, Altaïr jumped down from the trees. "Come on, this way."

He pointed his hand, and the four ran off in that direction, not noticing the giant feather that had gently fell behind them.

 **Next Up: TEAMS!**

 **Hello again! I have to say, I am really liking all the suggestions you're offering me. They really help me build up the story and to entertain you. However, I think that it might be a bit too early to add in these suggestions in the actual story yet, since we barely made it through Volume 1. But nonetheless, I really love the new ideas and support. Please be patient, and I will see you… next time! BYE, BYE!**

 **Guest: Actually, yes. That would make Edward Haytham's nephew. I know, that makes things weirder between them.**

 **Guest: Uh, idk, enough to fill a ship?**

 **Batmd: Hmm, okay that may have been something I overlooked. (I haven't played AC3, so please sue me.) What do you mean, that you think it's better they lived? If that's the case, I think I can work with that.**

 **Guest: That would be cool for the Jackdaw to be both.**

 **RemaGeek: Let me paint you a picture. An axe that shoots grenades. Don't think about how you see it in the game or the trailer. Just that. Yeah. That's how I see it.**

 **Guest: I know neither of them are assassins, but that doesn't mean they can't have a common enemy. Think about it: Haytham had intentions to unite the Assassins and Templars, and Shay has his reasons for his actions. They aren't assassins, but they don't work for Salem either.**

 **Batmd: Hmmm, I'll think about it, mein freund. But I won't add all of them, most likely Achilles at least.**

 **Guest: Yep, that's the idea for Jack. He works for Salem and is a dead-on enemy.**

 **forgotpassword: Not now, not soon. EVENTUALLY. ( important distinction)**

 **Guest: I'll think about Starrick. We're just WAY to early in the story for him.**

 **Emiliano733: Aww, thanks for supporting me! Also: yeah, I'm thinking of following the canon storyline, but it'll begin to deviate slightly more as we near the end of Vol. 3. I will still follow the story by then and beyond (WHEN I REACH IT) but with increasing changes and extra content.**

 **Sam hill: But shouldn't semblances be limited to a single ability? (I know Weiss can do a ton of shit with her glyphs, but still, it's just her glyphs.) I don't really know how I can limit Connor's animal spirit abilities that way.**

 **CHEEKI BREEKI: JTR will be included, just not now. Shawn, while I really like him, I don't see him fitting here. Sorry.**

 **Sam Hill: Why would he be missing a ring finger if he wouldn't have a reason to be? No. Here he isn't missing one (or will he? Hehehehe…)**


	9. United We Stand

Emerald Forest, Beacon

"Did you hear that?" Jaune asked his partner.

Pyrrha perked up at the sound of loud bangs in the distance. "Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." She replied.

"Yeah, of course." Jaune answered as he followed her.

Pyrrha moved aside a branch with her shield, only for it to swing into Jaune's face, causing him to fall over.

"Jaune! I'm sorry!" She quickly apologized to him.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Just a scratch." Jaune replied to Pyrrha, parting his hand to reveal a scratch on his cheek. Pyrrha was confused. His aura should've protected him. If he had it, he wouldn't even have a mark.

"Why didn't you activate your aura?" Pyrrha asked him.

"Huh?" Jaune was confused. " _Ah, that explains it._ " Pyrrha thought to herself. He didn't look like he could put up a fight when she met him (even if she did think he was pretty cute), but that was because he wasn't prepared for a fight at all.

"Your aura." She implied again.

"Gesundheit." Jaune replied bluntly, not really understanding her words.

"Jaune, do you even know what aura _is_?" Pyrrha asked him with a raised brow.

"Psch, of course! Uh…do, you know what aura is?" Jaune answered Pyrrha.

Pyrrha sighed and explained. "Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts."

Elsewhere…

 _Evie walked through the forest, wondering how the hell Jacob could've fell. She kept walking through the grass, hoping she'd find a partner._

Pyrrha continued, "Have you ever felt like you were being watched without knowing someone was there?"

 _Evie stopped. Her eyes narrowed as her free hand reached for her cane._

"Y-yeah…" Jaune answered Pyrrha.

 _Behind Evie, she heard hissing and scales slithering through the grass. The giant, black head of a King Taijitu emerged from the grass, staring down at the young woman with glowing red eyes and a forked tongue flickering in and out of its mouth. Evie twisted the cane's grip, activating its ranged mode and preparing for a fight._

"With practice, our aura can be our shield. Everyone has it. Even animals." Pyrrha continued on.

"What about monsters…Grimm?" Jaune asked the redhead.

 _Evie desperately flipped back and forth as the giant snake's head pounced again and again, attempting to devour her where she stood. Suddenly it came directly at her in the air, but she pressed her legs on the Grimm's head and pushed off, leaping to a safe distance. But the King Taijitu wasn't done, and began to circle her quickly, attempting to trap Evie within its coils._

"No. The monsters we fight lack a soul. They are creatures of Grimm; the manifestation of anonymity. They are darkness and we are the light." Pyrrha answered.

 _Evie leapt free before she was trapped and unleashed a hail of fire from her weapon. A few short bursts here and there, aiming for the thing's giant head. It did little, but at least she was hurting the beast. The snake lunged for the Assassin, but a good kick to the head knocked it back._

"Right. That's why we fight them." Jaune responed.

 _As the stunned creature collapsed, Evie landed and ran quickly to finish it off. She returned her weapon to its melee mode and drew the blade within. She leapt on its tapering body for leverage and held her sword up, ready to stab down on the snake's head, but she looked to the side to see a white snake's head making for her._

"It's not about why. It's about knowing. Understanding both light and dark helps us manifest our aura. Everyone has some of both." Pyrrha elaborated for Jaune.

 _Evie thought quickly and fired her grappling hook into the white head, lodging the hook in its eye. Screeching in pain, the white head tried to bite down on Evie, but she jumped to the side, causing it to crash into the ground. It wasn't shaken, however and striked from below, but Evie was pulled by her grappling hook, sending her up as well. She used this airtime to continue firing her assault rifle-cane at the white half of the Grimm._

"By baring your soul outward as a force, you can deflect harm. All of our tools and weapons are conduits for aura. You project yourself and your soul through fighting." Pyrrha continued on.

 _But suddenly, the black head bit down on the wire, causing Evie to crash on the forest floor. She got up and saw the two-headed monster coming straight at her. She soon realized she had dropped her cane and it was too far for her to reach. Suddenly, the black head snapped straight at her, hoping to swallow the girl whole._

"It's like a forcefield!" Jaune concluded.

"Yes, if you want to look at it that way." Pyrrha replied with a smile.

 _The King Taijitu pushed harder and harder against her, but Evie's aura protected her palms from its fangs and held the massive beast back. Energy rippled and pulsed against her hands, and with a determined roar, she pulled at the creature's fangs until with a rigid crack, they were snapped straight off by the Assassin. Evie then drove one severed fang into the beast's eye, stunning it. Then she channeled her aura into her fist and punched. The surging energy pulsed through her arm, and outwards in a devastating blow. The creature's head then completely exploded, leaving a bloody stump where the head used to be._

Pyrrha walked close to Jaune and held a hand to the back of his neck. "Now close your eyes and concentrate."

"Oh, o-okay." Jaune obliged and closed his eyes.

Pyrrha closed her eyes and smiled and began as a radiant glow emitted from the pair. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."

Pyrrha hunched over and panted heavily from the exhaustion of the process. Jaune raised an arm to her, but she raised her arm to say she was fine. "I used my energy to unlock your aura, but the energy protecting you now is your own."

Jaune gazed down at his arm to see that it was glowing with heavenly light. "Whoa…" He gasped in wonder.

Meanwhile…

Evie ran for the remaining white head of the King Taijitu, her hand slowly pulling the sword out of her cane, but she stopped when a rope extended from a lone tree and attached itself onto the Grimm's skull. The Grimm however didn't react as badly until a razor-sharp kukri deeply lodged itself into the Grimm's eye. Jacob leapt from the trees and had a fist drawn back. His brass knuckles flared with the energy of his aura, and he punched the kukri right at the base of the hilt. I kid you not, the blow burst the blade through the snake's skull and out the other eye, killing the thing.

Jacob looked at his sister, her hand on her hip. He then smiled and greeted her. "And you say I can't solve every problem by punching it."

Evie rolled her eyes and picked up her weapon, joining her brother, venturing into the forest.

Beacon Cliff, Beacon

Glynda walked up to Professor Ozpin, holding a scroll in her hands.

"Our last pairing has been confirmed, sir. Jacob and Evie Frye. Hmph, I can hardly believe those two are twins." Glynda said.

"Actually, I'm more worried about Ms. Nikos. I don't care what his transcripts say. This Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." Glynda noted.

"Well, I guess we'll find out eventually. At this pace, each pair will have made it to the temple in a few minutes' time. Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?" Glynda looked over to Ozpin, who stared intently at his scroll, observing the movements of a certain red-hooded girl.

Abandoned Temple, Emerald Forest

"Think this is the place?" Yang asked her partner.

"Positive." Adéwalé answered.

The temple's walls were all but destroyed, leaving only a few stone constructions and pillars jutting from the overgrown floor. Both pairs descended to the temple, finding several chess pieces arranged on top of stone pillars. They eyed the figurines closely, and concluded that these must be the relics.

"Some are missing." Arno mentioned, noting that some pillars didn't have chess pieces on them.

"Looks like we weren't the first ones here." Yang noted.

"So I guess we take one?" Blake asked Yang.

"How about a cute little pony?" Yang asked as she picked up a golden knight piece.

Blake smiled and rolled her eyes. "Sure, why not?"

Just then, they heard rustling in the bushes on the edge of the forest. All four drew their weapons, ready for a fight, only to spot Connor and Edward emerging from the foliage.

Blake exhaled in relief and put her weapon back. Connor went up to Blake and smiled. "I'm glad you're safe." He said with contempt.

Edward was breathing heavily from exhaustion. He looked up at Yang staring at him and he smirked. "What's wrong? Worried about lil' ol' me?"

To that, Yang pulled him up by his hood and replied with a grin, "No hello? Rude."

"What about the others?" Connor asked the group.

"I'm sure they'll turn up. I mean, it wasn't very hard to find this place." Adéwalé replied.

Meanwhile…

Jaune and Pyrrha stood in front of a large cave on the side of the hill.

"You think this is it?" Jaune asked his partner as he entered.

Pyrrha was unsure, considering the sinister cave paintings on the wall depicting a giant scorpion Grimm fighting a group of hunters. However, she followed Jaune inside.

"I don't think this is the right place…" Pyrrha worriedly said to Jaune.

Jaune sighed. "Pyrrha, I already made the torch. Could you at least humor me for maybe five more feet?"

With that, Jaune tripped, dropping the torch and extinguishing the flame. "Do you feel that?" Pyrrha asked.

"What? Soul-crushing regret?" Jaune sarcastically answered.

"No, it's warm…" Pyrrha stated worriedly.

"Eh, probably nothing." Jaune said as he continued down the cave.

The two walked through the darkness, and spotted a light at the end of the path. They came closer and found a large object glowing in brilliant gold.

"That's the relic!" Jaune excitedly said.

He attempted to grab it, but the object constantly moved away from his grasp. "Hey, bad relic!" Jaune scolded it.

"Gotcha!" Jaune grabbed onto the "relic" with two hands and was lifted into the air.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha attempted to warn him, but Jaune looked down to see three sets of glowing red eyes staring back at him with a loud hiss.

Meanwhile…

"AAAAAIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!"

A high-pitched scream echoed throughout the forest, reaching Yang's ears.

"Some girl's in trouble! Blake, did you hear that? What should we do?"

However, Blake was pointing up at a red figure falling down from the sky, with two figures in white.

Back to them…

Pyrrha rushed out of the cave just as the entrance was burst open by a giant Deathstalker. Jaune was still hanging onto its stinger, screaming for his life.

"Ahhh! Why?! Ahhh! Pyrrha! Ahhhh! It's not the relic! It's not! Ahhh! Do something!" Jaune cried.

Pyrrha attempted to reassure him. "Jaune! Whatever you do, don't let-"

But then, the Grimm flicked its tail, flinging the poor boy into the air.

"-go…" Pyrrha finished.

She assumed a battle stance, but Pyrrha quickly realized she couldn't take on this thing alone. She smiled awkwardly at it and ran off in Jaune's direction.

Several minutes earlier…

"Ruby! I told you this is a terrible idea!" Weiss yelled as her voice was drowned out by the wind.

"Hey! It was Ezio's idea! Stop worrying!" Ruby yelled back.

"I am so beyond worrying!" Weiss threw back.

"In a good way?!" Ruby asked loudly.

"In a bad way! In a really bad way!" Weiss screamed back at her.

"Well, why don't we just jump, then?!" Ezio yelled.

"What are you, insane?!" Weiss yelled, only to discover she was completely alone.

"OH, YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE-"

Back to the crew…

"HEADS UUUUUPPPP!" Ruby yelled out as she was crashing down to Earth. Ezio simply descended slowly with his parachute with a smug grin, while Altaïr was falling down like Ruby.

Suddenly, a figure sped through the atmosphere, hitting Ruby and Altaïr, knocking them into a nearby tree. Altaïr was knocked out cold and was hanging limp from one of the branches. Ruby rubbed her head in confusion. "What happened?"

"Uh… hey, Ruby." Jaune awkwardly greeted her, hanging upside-down from a tree branch.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked Yang.

Before Yang could answer, the noise of wood cracking and leaves rustling caught their attention. An Ursa emerged from the woods, flailing its arms around aimlessly and chasing after a screaming Jacob riding on Evie's back.

"YEEEHAAAWW!" Nora cheered. As they reached the edge of the forest, she grabbed the Grimm's neck and pulled, hoping it would stop. It then fell dead from a broken neck.

"Awww, I broke it…" Nora whined.

"Christ, you're heavy." Evie said as she dropped her brother onto the grass.

Jacob just smirked and answered, "I work out."

Ren emerged from behind its body and was panting heavily. "Nora? Please. Don't ever do that again." He looked to the side only to see Nora gone, and looking at a chess piece with curiosity.

"Ooooh…" Nora picked up the rook piece and danced around with childlike glee.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" She sang.

"NORA!" Ren yelled at her.

Nora giggled and ran up to her partner. "Coming Ren!"

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked.

Before Yang could answer, Pyrrha ran in from the forest with the Deathstalker still chasing her. The giant scorpion swiped a claw at her, but she dodged it and headed for the temple.

Ruby dropped down from the tree to help out, but heard Yang's voice beside her. "Ruby?"

"Yang!" Ruby said happily.

"NORA!" Nora sang as she popped up randomly between the two.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake asked.

Yang however, was getting impatient and exploded. "Grrrr… I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! COULD EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS AGAIN?!"

Two seconds later…

"Um…Yang?" Ruby pointed upwards at a Nevermore circling above them, with Weiss clutching onto one of its talons.

"How could you leave me?!" Weiss yelled out below.

"I said 'jump'!" Ruby threw back.

"She's gonna fall…" Arno said.

"Pfft! She'll be fine!" Ruby replied.

"And…she's falling." Jacob continued.

Jaune watched from the treetops and saw Weiss plummeting down to Earth. " _This is my chance!_ " Jaune said to himself.

Jaune leapt from the branch and caught Weiss in mid-air. "Just dropping in?"

The two then looked down and remembered that they were still falling. "Oh, God… DAAAGH!" Jaune screamed as he fell to Earth.

Jaune didn't crash, however and landed in Ezio's grasp. "THIS is how you d-"

Ezio didn't finish, as Weiss crashed down onto Jaune, sending Ezio down on his back.

"My heroes." Weiss said to the two.

"My stomach…" Jaune replied.

"My everything…" Ezio finished.

Pyrrha then landed right next to the group. "Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Jacob joked sarcastically.

"Not if I can help it!" Ruby said as she rushed toward the Deathstalker.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang yelled out, but she was too far ahead.

Ruby shot behind her with her weapon, shooting toward the giant scorpion attempting to strike it down. However, it blocked her attack and knocked her back. She got up and stammered, "D-d-don't worry! I'm fine!"

She quickly realized she couldn't win this fight alone, so she ran back to the temple, just dodging the Grimm's stinger. As she ran, she heard a loud shriek behind her. She looked back to see the Nevermore pursuing her. The giant bird flapped its wings at Ruby, unleashing a hail of razor-sharp feathers and pinning down Ruby's cape, effectively immobilizing her.

"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang yelled out.

Ruby struggled to free her cape from the feather, but to no avail. She looked up to see the Deathstalker had caught up to her, raising its tail for the killing blow.

"RUBY!" Yang screamed, but watched as a white figure darted towards Ruby at great speed.

The stinger came down, but as Ruby closed her eyes, she didn't feel the sharp impact.

"You are so childish…" Weiss coldy said to her.

Ruby opened her eyes to find the stinger inches from her face, but frozen in mid-air by a wall of ice.

"Weiss?"

Weiss wasn't done talking. "… and dimwitted, and hyperactive, and I won't even mention your fighting style!"

Weiss looked down at Ruby, whose face resembled the downtrodden girl yesterday at the courtyard. She sighed and opened up.

"Look, I guess I can be a bit… difficult. But in order for this to work, we'll have to do it as a team. So if you quit showing off, I'll be… nicer." She said with contempt.

"I'm not trying to show off. I'm just trying to show you that I can do this." Ruby replied.

"Trust me, you're fine." Weiss said with a small smile.

Ruby raised an eyebrow at her, but smiled anyway at her kindness. She got up and gasped to see the Deathstalker struggling to free itself from the ice wall.

Yang ran up to her and gave her a warm hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

The nevermore screeched again, causing the others to snap back to reality (and screentime).

"That thing's not going to leave us alone." Connor noted.

"Well, we can't afford to waste more time out here in the open." Evie agreed.

"We don't have to fight them. Our mission is to grab an artifact and return to base." Blake continued.

"Run and survive? That I can get behind." Jaune stated.

"If we have to fight?" Edward asked.

"Then we return the favor!" Yang replied while smashing her fists together.

Ruby picked up a golden knight piece, Altaïr picked up a black king piece, Jaune picked a golden rook piece, and Jacob picked the black rook.

However, the Deathstalker was beginning to shake itself free and the ice wall began to crack. Ren noticed this and said to the others, "Time we left."

"Right, let's go!" Ruby said, motioning the others to follow her.

Yang stopped to look at Ruby one more time. This wasn't the awkward girl on the first day of school. She was now the confident and independent woman Yang had hoped she'd be. It almost reminded her of… mom… (stepmom anyway).

Altaïr and Edward noticed this and Edward asked her, "Something wrong?"

Altaïr noticed her expression toward Ruby. "She's grown, hasn't she?"

Yang nodded with glistening eyes. "Yeah, she has."

The sixteen teens reached the clearing, where the large structure of ancient ruins stretched into the valley in front of them. The nevermore followed them, and soared overhead until it was in front of them. Each huntress and huntsman ducked for cover behind the ruins of the temple as the Grimm perched atop a pillar, blocking the path to the cliff.

"Well, that's just great!" Edward noted.

Behind them, the Deathstalker burst through the trees, rushing to kill every last huntsman and huntress in its path.

"Run! We'll cover you!" Jacob yelled at the group. He and Evie brought out their respective weapons in ranged form, and opened fire on the insectoid Grimm.

Jaune looked to see the Nevermore leaving its perch, diving for them.

"Distract it!" Ren yelled at the group.

Nora and Arno both nodded and brought out their weapons, unleashing a hail of grenades and explosives at the bird, stunning it momentarily and driving it away.

The Deathstalker moved past the twins and charged at Nora, but Blake, Ezio and Ren held it off with their blades, before Weiss came to her rescue with a glyph.

Jaune and Pyrrha ran along a stone path over the deep valley, and noticed the scorpion Grimm chasing Ezio, Blake and Ren in their direction.

"Go, go, go!" Pyrrha said to them, pulling out her own gun and firing at the Grimm, with Adéwalé and Ren firing their own weapons at it, letting them run ahead a little further.

But then, the Nevermore returned and swooped down, diving at full speed at the bridge they were crossing, nearly demolishing the structure.

Jaune recovered from the attack, and noticed Ren and Pyrrha on the far end of the gap, fighting against the Deathstalker with Blake and Adéwalé. Jacob and Evie simply used their grappling hooks to make it to the other side, and Arno used his axe to rocket-jump there, TF2-style.

"We gotta get over there! They need help!" Jaune said to Nora beside him.

"Let's do this!" Nora said.

"Yeah, but, um… I can't make that jump." Jaune noted.

Nora perked up at this and gave her trademark mischievous grin. She knocked Jaune down on his butt and transformed her weapon, Magnhild into a massive war hammer.

She ran and jumped up, raising her weapon above her head. Jaune could only look with fear as to what would happen next.

"N-n-no! Wait!" Jaune quickly exclaimed before the hammer slammed down onto what remained of the bridge, catapulting Jaune into the air. Nora then stood up on top of the head of the weapon and fired a grenade, shooting her in the same direction.

Jaune landed unharmed, and Nora ran straight toward the Deathstalker, raising Magnhild high. "NORAAAAA SMASH!" The hammer slammed down onto the scorpion's head with destructive force, but it was unharmed due to the rigid face plate. The Grimm thrusted its stinger straight at Nora, but she fired her weapon, pushing her back, but bumping into Blake, who fell over the edge and down the valley.

With quick thinking, she threw her pistol end of Gambol Shroud into the stone structure, the ribbon holding her weapon together supporting her weight like a grappling hook. She swung in the Nevermore's path and jumped up in mid-air with the aid of a shadow clone.

Slicing at the Grimm's face, she then ran down the Nevermore's back, swiping left and right with her sword. She jumped off and landed on top of the tower ruins, with Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Altaïr, Ezio, Connor and Edward.

"It's tougher than it looks!" Blake reported to them.

Edward unsheathed his swords. "Then make it hurt!"

Each teen readied their respective weapons in gun mode, and opened fire on the giant bird.

The bird did slow down its dive from the assault, but didn't stop and nearly destroyed the castle with its collision.

Each of them managed to make it back up by jumping off of falling debris Legolas-style. Yang then ran forward to attack, but Altaïr studied the scene around him. "This isn't working."

Ruby studied the battlefield. Blake landed atop a bridge with Gambol Shroud, with Ezio, Edward and Yang unloading their weapons onto the Nevermore, with Connor riding on the Grimm's back, trying to cut through its neck with his tomahawk. Ruby lit up with a light bulb above her head. "I've got a plan. Cover me!"

Meanwhile…

"Let's go!" Jaune said as the eight of them charged at the Deathstalker.

The scorpion swiped with its claw, only for it to be blocked by Pyrrha's shield and receiving a reeling kick to the face. It attempted another attack, only for Jaune to do the same, allowing Adéwalé to blast it with his gun.

Evie and Ren ran up from behind, both unloading their clips onto the Grimm. It attempted to slam down its stinger on them, but they both dodged the attack. Ren hung onto the stinger and was lifted toward the Deathstalker. He then unleashed a barrage of fire onto the segment connecting the stinger to the tail. The giant creature screeched in agony, allowing Jacob to open fire on the Grimm with his dual revolvers, and Nora with her grenades.

The Grimm was then stunned, allowing Pyrrha to throw her javelin into the scorpion's eye, causing a violent reaction. Ren was thrown off the stinger and sent crashing into a nearby wall.

"REN!" Nora yelled out for her friend.

Jaune looked up to see that thanks to Ren, the stinger now hung by just a tendon, dangling uselessly from the tail.

"Now!" He yelled.

"Done!" Arno replied and fired his phantom blade, the small blade severing the stinger so that it stabbed down on the scorpion's head.

"Nora! Nail it!" Jaune called behind him.

"Heads up!" Nora said to Pyrrha, who nodded and held up her shield for Nora to jump on top and fire Magnhild down. She rocket-jumped into the air and with a gleeful smile, hammered down on the stinger, punching it through the Deathstalker's thick exoskeleton, killing it and destroying the bridge.

The group then climbed to safety, panting heavily from the heated battle. They then looked up to see their comrades taking on the Nevermore.

Yang and Edward stood atop a tall pillar, continuously firing at the bird. Reeling from the pain, the Nevermore changed its flight path and charged at the two blondes. Yang leaped in between its open jaws, while Edward stabbed his swords into its eyes.

"I! Hope! You're! Hung-ry!" Yang screamed as she fired a shell into the beast's open mouth with each syllable.

"Eat it! Eat it, ya bastard! HAHAHAHAHA!" Edward laughed maniacally as he unloaded his clips down the Grimm's punctured eyes.

Now blinded and stunned, the Grimm slowed down, allowing Connor and Ezio to attack the wings, slicing at them with their blades and attacking the joints. The four then dropped down at a stone structure before the Nevermore crashed violently into the cliff.

The giant bird screeched and attempted to lift off, but its wings were weakened and it could no longer see, so it could not move as quick before Weiss froze its tail, preventing its escape. Using a glyph, Weiss returned to her group.

Blake threw her pistol grip at Yang, who nodded and the two girls pulled, stretching out the ribbon. Ruby jumped up in the middle, using her scythe to land onto the ribbon and Weiss used a glyph to pull her back like a slingshot.

"This had better work." Altaïr said to Ruby.

"It's gotta work. Weiss, you think you can make the shot?" Ruby asked Weiss.

"Hmph. Can I?" Weiss answered.

Ruby raised an eyebrow at her. "Of course I can!" Weiss explained bluntly.

"Let's end this." Altaïr noted, seeing Ruby's eyes glow with grit and focus.

Readying a sniper round, Ruby narrowed her eyes and shot as Weiss launched her toward the Nevermore. Using gunshots to boost her speed, she hooked the blade onto the Nevermore's neck. Weiss then summoned a line of glyphs up the cliff, and Ruby ran, unloading her weapon and summoning every last bit of energy she had into her semblance to boost her even greater.

She dragged the massive beast up the slope, running as fast as she could and yelling out in determination as her comrades watched in pure awe.

"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGH!"

And as she reached the top of the cliff, she felt the cold metal puncture flesh, and suddenly break loose of the massive weight she had carried up, as she gracefully landed with the severed head of the Nevermore landing in front of her in a flurry of rose petals. The bird's decapitated body went limp and lifelessly fell into the depths of the valley.

"Wow…" That was all Jaune could say at the impressive spectacle in front of him.

"Well, that was something." Yang remarked.

"Yeah, Imma take a quick nap fi-" Jacob stuttered as he fell on his face from fatigue.

Assembly Hall, Beacon Academy

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. You four retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward you will work together as… Team CRDL (Cardinal). Led by… Cardin Winchester." Ozpin announced. A group of four boys in armor stepped down from the stage.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team JNPR (Juniper). " Ozpin declared. Nora giggled and gave Ren a strong hug.

"Led by… Jaune Arc!" Pyrrha instantly smiled at Jaune, but he was in shock.

"L-led by?" Jaune awkwardly asked.

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin merely said with a smile.

Pyrrha then gave Jaune a friendly slug on the shoulder, but the boy fell over from her act. She gasped, but smiled as she saw him doing so.

"Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore, Connor and Edward James Kenway. You four retrieved the black king pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team ACEE (Ace)."

"Hmm…. I like the sound of that." Ezio noted.

"Yeah, me too." Edward agreed.

"Led by… Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad."

Altaïr said nothing, but smiled and bowed with his hand on his chest, showing respect and thanks.

"Arno Victor Dorian, Adéwalé, Jacob and Evie Frye. The four of you retrieved the black rook pieces. From this day forward you will be known as… Team JAAE (Jay)."

Evie tensed up when she saw Jacob's initial first. "No…"

"Led by…"

Arno and Adéwalé picked up on what Evie was worried about and could only wait for Ozpin to say it. "Nooo…"

"… Jacob Frye."

Jacob grinned, and just then, Team ACEE was laughing their heads off, especially Altaïr.

Jacob leaned in close to Evie and raised his finger to say something, only to meet her sword to his throat. "Not another word."

And to that, all Jacob could do was laugh at his sister's misfortune.

Ozpin continued on, "And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team RWBY (Ruby). Led by… Ruby Rose."

Weiss flinched at the last part and looked beside her. Ruby was in absolute awe and wonder at her new role. "I'm so proud of you!" Yang joyfully exclaimed as she hugged her sister.

"Looks like things are shaping up to be an… interesting year." Ozpin said with contentment.

Later that night, Downtown Vale

Roman listened with his ear against the radio, listening over the chatter, and in his frustration, slammed his gloved fist onto the table. To calm himself down, he lit a cigar in his mouth, puffing smoke.

Hearing the masked faunus behind him, he took out some lien in his pocket and handed it to the grunt. "Open it." He ordered.

The White Fang member opened the crate he was hauling with a crowbar, revealing many different dust crystals of all variants and colors, radiating with ethereal energy.

Roman picked up one crystal to observe and study its shiny exterior and beauty, then he turned to the henchman and said, "We're gonna need more men."

"True…" A voice called from the shadows.

Roman tensed at the noise and looked toward the source. His eyes fell upon a cloaked figure. His face was concealed by a burlap sack and his head adorned with a elegant top hat. He couldn't see his face, but his eyes were visible, and they flared with a sinister aura. Roman couldn't tell why this figure unsettled him so much, but he could feel the hatred and bloodlust emanating from the man's aura, showing Roman that he knew how to use that knife he was twirling in his hand, and that he loved to use it.

"And that's why I'm here, Mr. Torchwick." He said in an unsettling voice.

"A-and who are you?" Roman stuttered, trying to keep his composure.

Roman watched his eyes flare even brighter as he sneered under his mask. "It's Jack, mate. Just Jack. And you and I are gonna have a lot of fun working together…"

 **Hello, again! I'm done with half of Vol. 1 and I'll be continuing as long as I can (hopefully.)! Anyways, not a lot of reviews for the last chapter and I was slightly disappointed. But I still appreciate your support and helping me come all this way!**

 **Just a question for you all: What should Team JAAE's semblances be? I've already thought of something for Team ACEE, but I need ideas for the Jacob and Co. Yes, I finally put Jack in the story as SO MANY OF YOU ASKED! Also: I just noticed, the assassin's team names work because they're both colors. Ace symbolizes black, white and red, like a deck of cards. Jay alludes to the bird. This one took much effort to complete, and I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you, leave a review (please, please, please!), and I will see you… in the next chapter! BYE-BYE!**

 **Emiliano733: Yeah, that could work. But I don't think Shay would agree about Ozpin.**

 **RemaGeek: (laughs hysterically) No, I don't think so.**

 **JustSomeRandomReader01: Maybe not. I need a full backstory and moveset to work from, so that I can understand their character and think of their Semblance and weapon.**


	10. Friendships that will Last a Lifetime

Team ACEE's Dorm, Beacon Academy

Altaïr woke up at the first light of morning, his eyes opening to greet the day. He looked around at his room. It was small, but it was enough for him. Last night, his team was partying hard with the others. He officially got introduced to teams RWBY and JNPR, and of course, he had to wake up early to clean it all up.

Altaïr grabbed his school uniform and got in the showers. After wiping himself off and changing, he saw his friends were still asleep. Ezio was spooning his pillow, Connor was snoring like a bear, and Edward was drooling into his pillow, his hand still grasping an empty bottle of beer.

Altaïr sighed. " _How do I even put up with this lot?_ " He asked himself.

He picked up Edward's gun and shot into the ceiling. Everybody woke up with a start from the loud bang, either grumbling or breathing heavily.

"Ya serious, mate?" Edward groaned, rubbing his head.

"Come on, we haven't even unpacked, and I want time for breakfast." Altaïr bluntly said to them.

Team ACEE sighed in unison and started to get ready. Ezio stepped in the shower first, and put on his uniform. He checked himself in the mirror and smiled. " _I'm gonna get so many chicks with this thing…"_ Ezio thought inwardly while shamelessly posing.

Connor put on his uniform next. He looked at himself in the mirror and stroked his wolf ears. " _Hmm… I don't really think I should hide them…"_ He thought. He knew Blake preferred to hide her ears due to the fear of discrimination, but Connor saw no need to hide his nature from everyone. I mean, he was so big and intimidating that only an idiot would pick a fight with him.

Edward had a hard time with his uniform. "Argh!… How do you put this stupid thing on?!" He growled as he fiddled with his tie. Edward was a man who spent most of his life with sand on his feet and living amongst bandits and hardened criminals. Ties were completely alien to him as seen when he tugged and tangled the tie.

Soon, everybody was ready and dressed. "What about our weapons?" Edward asked his team.

"Bring only your hidden blades. We can leave our weapons behind for now." Altaïr answered.

"Speaking of which, what's our first class?" Connor asked.

"Ah! At 9 o'clock, we have Grimm studies an-" Altaïr started before he looked up at a clock at the wall, pointing at 8:55 on the dot.

"Ooonsecondthoughtweshouldprobablygetgoinglikerightnow!" Altaïr said in a hurry before rushing out the room. The rest of his team was left there confused, until voices rang out from the hallways.

Ezio, Connor and Edward peeked out of their door to see team RWBY running off in a hurry.

"C-class? Dah!" Jaune stuttered before his entire team collapsed from leaning out the door like them.

Team JAAE was sprinting out of their dorm too, Arno with a piece of toast in his mouth.

"We're late?..." Ezio asked nervously.

Each of their eyes widened and ran as fast as they could down the hallway.

"WE'RE GONNA BE LAAAATE!" Jaune screamed.

Grimm Studies class, Beacon Academy

"Monsters! Deeeeeemons… Prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Hu-ha!" Professor Port announced to his students. Barely any of which were even listening.

Ruby had faced many tests in the field, but she soon realized that the ultimate challenge of Beacon was staying awake in Professor Port's class.

The classroom was rather large. On the whiteboard were diagrams and descriptions of different types of Grimm.

The old teacher quickly continued on with his lecture. "And you will too, once you graduate from this prestigious academy!"

Ezio, Arno and Edward were trying their best not to fall asleep, and Jacob was already drooling all over his textbook. Connor and Adé remained composed, but they too, were beginning to drift off. And then there were Altaïr and Evie, who were actually listening attentively and taking notes. Arno looked at then and scoffed. "Pfft. Tryhards…"

Port continued to speak. "Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to rip you to shreds. And that's where we come in! Huntsmen! Huntresses…"

Port clicked his tongue on the last one at Yang, causing her to cringe, and Edward to unconsciously flick out his hidden blade.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. From what, you ask? Why, the very world!" Port exclaimed as he raised his fist on the last part.

"WHOOOOOOOOOooooo-"

Jacob suddenly lifted his face from his textbook and whooped loudly with a fist in the air, but all it did was make it more awkward. Evie facepalmed and slammed a fist into the back of his head, sending him back to Dreamland.

"Uhh… That is what you are training to become. But first, a story. A tale of a young, handsome, man. Me. When I was a boy, blah blah blah…." Port began as his speech drifted off into incoherent and literal 'blah's.

Weiss was about to drift off to sleep like the others, but heard Ruby giggling over something as she scribbled on a sheet of paper.

"Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. "Peter," he told me, blah blah blah…" Port continued on, unaware that half his class was out cold.

Ruby began to snicker to herself, attracting the attention of her team, Arno and Connor. She held up the paper she had been doodling on, showing a rather bad drawing of Professor Port with stink lines, labeled "Professor Poop" under it. Ruby also blew a raspberry noise, causing her team (except for Weiss) and Arno to laugh, but Connor, being the blunt giant he is, just sat there, not really understanding why she spelled his name incorrectly.

Arno then took out his own pencil and scribbled. He then held up his own paper, showing an equally bad doodle of Professor Port, but with a pig nose and titled "Professor Pork" under it. He also made a snorting sound with his nose to emphasize his point, causing Ruby, Blake and Yang to laugh a bit harder, attracting Port's attention.

"Ahem… In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity. And I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high. Celebrated, as a hero! The moral of the story? A true huntsman must be honorable!"

Weiss looked again at Ruby, her leader. She was balancing an apple on top of a book on top of a pencil by her finger while making a stupid face. Her expression darkened.

"A true huntsman must be dependable!"

" _Now she was sleeping. Fucking sleeping. In class. What does she have that makes her a leader that I don't?!_ " Weiss thought to herself as she looked on in anger.

"A true huntsman must be strategic, well educated, and wise!"

" _Now she's picking her nose. Picking her goddamn nose. That bratty, unprofessional airhead!"_ Weiss screamed inwardly as she was beginning to snap from outrage.

"Now, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Port asked the class.

Weiss shot her hand up in the air instantly. "I do, sir!"

Professor Port smiled at her drive and gestured to a rattling cage beside him. "Well then, let's find out, shall we? Step forward and face your opponent!"

Weiss changed into her combat attire and stepped down to the front of the class.

"Gooo Weiss!" Yang cheered.

"Fight well!" Blake cheered also as she waved a RWBY flag in her hand.

"Yeah! Represent teeeaam RWBY!" Ruby joyously proclaimed with both fists reaching up to pierce the heavens.

"Ruby! I'm trying to focus!" Weiss barked at the girl.

"Oh. Sorry..." Ruby apologized as she slunk back into her chair.

"Alright. Let the match…begin!" Port declared. He raised his axe and hacked off the lock, revealing a snarling Boarbatusk.

The pig-like Grimm charged Weiss, but she attacked with a sideways swipe, diverting herself away from the creature's charge. She rolled on her back and stood in a kneeling position.

The Grimm stopped to change direction and glared at her with two sets of red orbs.

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby yelled from her seat.

Weiss dashed toward the Boarbatusk with Myrtenaster pointing forward, but as she collided with the Grimm, the weapon was caught by the Grimm's hooked tusks. She tugged at her sword as the Grimm attempted to keep its ground.

"Aha! Bold new approach! I like it!" Port commented.

"Come on, Weiss! Show it who's boss!" Ruby cheered.

But Weiss stopped to glare at Ruby for distracting her, but this made her lose focus and allowed the Boarbatusk to wrench the rapier from her grip and headbutt her backwards.

"Oho! Now what will you do without your weapon?" Port said.

Weiss leapt to the side to barely dodge a charge and sprinted to pick up her weapon.

"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor undernea-" Ruby attempted to tell her, only to be cut off by the heiress.

"STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" Weiss snapped at Ruby, who sank her head in guilt.

The Boarbatusk then curled up in a ball and began to spin itself toward Weiss like a wheel. However, Weiss simply summoned a glyph right in front of her, which the Grimm crashed into, sending it down on its back. Weiss then leapt up and summoned another glyph behind her feet in mid-air.

Activating it, she shot down and skewered the Grimm through its vulnerable stomach.

"Bravo! Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training!" Port applauded her.

After the match, Port dismissed the class. Weiss scowled at Ruby, who was making her "kicked puppy" face. The heiress then stormed off furiously.

"What's she so worked up about?" Evie asked.

Ruby then got up and ran after her. Ezio watched everything silently and decided to leave on his own.

Ruby finally caught up to Weiss in the hallways and tried to work their situation out.

"Weiss!" She called as she found the girl in the hallway.

"What?" She replied bitterly.

"What's wrong with you? What're you so worked up ab-" Ruby asked her.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?! You're supposed to be a leader and all you've been so far is a nuisance!" Weiss snapped at the young girl.

"What did I ever do?!" Ruby protested.

"That's it! You haven't done anything to gain that position! You acted like a child back in the forest and you've only continued to do so!" Weiss growled at her.

Ruby was confused as to why she was so upset. "Weiss, where is this all coming from? What happened to all that talk about working together? I thought you believed in working as a team!"

Weiss groaned. "A team that I would lead. Not you. I studied and trained my whole life for this, and this is what I get?! * **sigh** * Ozpin… made a mistake."

Ruby tried to say something, but she just couldn't. If she had anything to say, to object, it was gone with whatever hopes and self-confidence she had. Was Weiss right? Was she even fit to be a leader? Why was she even here?

"Not a good way to treat your friends if you ask me."

Ruby turned to see Altaïr in his uniform and his arms folded.

"Do you think she's right? Am I not doing good enough?" Ruby cried.

"Well… I don't think we can say for certain yet." Altaïr replied.

Meanwhile…

Weiss wandered through the halls and heard a voice behind her.

"Weiss?"

"What do you want?" Weiss coldly asked Ezio.

"I only want to help out." Ezio replied calmly.

Weiss sighed and calmed down. She began to walk over to a bench on the balcony, scooching over to save a spot for Ezio.

"Is it about Ruby?" Ezio asked.

Weiss gritted her teeth. "Yes. Why was she chosen to be team leader instead of me? I've prepared my whole life, and yet she takes it without a care in the world!"

Ezio turned to her and said, "Maybe that's how it is. Maybe you aren't cut to be a team leader."

Meanwhile…

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked the assassin.

"Dust, we've only been leaders for one day. We'll be leading these teams for four years!" Altaïr answered.

"Ruby, you've seen what I can do out there, right?" Altaïr asked her.

"Y-yeah." Ruby answered as she remembered his deadly skill with his blades and how easily he moves in the shadows.

"Believe me, there was a time when I was weak. A novice. Nothing. A far cry from who I am now. We've all been there. We've all had times of doubt and weakness. But by learning from our failures, we learn to stand against them and to push further." Altaïr said while putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Once, my brashness nearly cost me and my brothers their lives. I started again from rock-bottom and it was then that I truly learned what I was lacking. Our objective is important, but as a leader, your responsibilities don't stop there." Altaïr continued on.

Meanwhile…

"Excuse me?! But I've trained rigorously my entire life! I have every right to be a leader!" Weiss exclaimed in an offended tone.

"Yes, you are skilled and I admire that in you. You fight with grace and elegance I can hardly match, but your attitude is the real issue." Ezio informed her.

"How dare you!" Weiss cried at him.

"My point exactly. Weiss, you've lived your entire life getting what you wanted and I can relate to that." Ezio said to Weiss.

"That's not even true." Weiss pouted.

Ezio narrowed his eyes at her, causing her to flinch.

"Okay, maybe not entirely true…"

Meanwhile…

"Being a leader is much more than a fancy title for yourself. Being a leader means you are responsible for your teammate's well-being and it also means you must keep order between them and consider their opinions before you make the final call." Altaïr told Ruby.

Ruby lowered her head in deep thought.

"This means you need to make the tough choices and set an example for the rest, by being the best you can be." Altaïr continued on.

"And…" Altaïr patted Ruby on the back, getting her attention.

"… You're starting off very well." Altaïr finished with a smile.

Ruby smiled as he walked away, and walked back to her dorm in deep thought.

Meanwhile…

"If things don't turn out the way you wanted, complaining gets you nowhere. Life is unfair, and bad things happen eventually." Ezio elaborated.

Weiss hung her head in shame as she looked down at her feet.

Ezio then placed a hand behind her neck, attempting to comfort the girl. "Don't be angry because of what you don't have. Treasure what is in front of you while you still can."

Ezio then grasped her by the chin and held her up to meet his eye. She didn't fight it and only drank in his every word. "Listen to me. You are one of the most amazing people I have ever met, but your team deserves to know this side of you as well. Push your limits as far as you can, but don't look down on others like subordinates. Understand them and personally connect with them as friends and partners. Don't be mad because you're not the leader, but do everything you can to help your team succeed as one."

Ezio let Weiss go and she turned to him with a smile. "Thanks, Ezio. You're right. I shouldn't have been such a jerk."

Ezio smiled at her. "How about you make it up to her?"

Weiss folded her arms. "I'll think of something…"

Later that night…

Weiss entered the dorm quietly. She walked over to Ruby's bed and parted the curtain to see her unconscious face atop a notebook. Her hand still held onto a pencil and she was drooling on top of this one worksheet.

Weiss rolled her eyes and shook the sleeping girl's arm, causing her to stir.

Ruby's eyes fluttered open, then she got up startled by her presence. "W-Weiss! I-I was studying and I guess I fell asleep! I'm sorry, I-"

Weiss cut her off and stared at the empty coffee mug beside Ruby. "How do you take your coffee?"

"Uh, I don't-" Ruby stuttered, not very sure of what to make of the situation.

"Answer the question." Weiss interrupted, but not in the usual demanding voice she used, but in a much calmer and concerned tone.

"Uhh… cream and five sugars!" Ruby quickly answered.

"Don't move." Weiss picked up the empty mug and exited the room for a minute.

Weiss came back a couple minutes later holding a steaming mug of hot coffee.

"Here." Weiss handed Ruby the mug with a smile.

"Um, thanks Weiss." Ruby responded with gratitude.

Weiss stood there for a while and sighed. "Ruby, I think you have what it takes to be a good leader. And I promise you, I will be the best teammate you'll ever have."

Ruby smiled because could feel the sincerity and empathy in her voice, showing her that Weiss meant every word she had just said, and that touched her deeply.

"Good luck studying!" Weiss said before she stepped down from Ruby's bunk.

She then stepped back up to point at some notes Ruby had written in her notebook. "That's wrong, by the way."

Before Weiss closed the door as she left, she stopped. "Hey, Ruby? I always wanted bunk beds as a kid."

Ruby smiled and sipped her coffee, happy that she had her partner's support as a teammate and a friend.

Outside in the hallway…

Weiss closed the door behind her and turned to the bathrooms, but she heard a door creak behind her.

"Hey."

"Good evening, Ezio." Weiss greeted the assassin.

"You know that you're way prettier when you're smiling, right?" Ezio noted with a grin.

"I'll… keep that in mind, thank you." Weiss replied with a similar expression.

 **NEXT UP: CARDIN, CARDIN, CARDIN!**

 **Helloooooo! I don't know if this chapter was as interesting, but I wanna know how you think about it! At least next chapter we get to the REAL shit like the assassins beating the crap outta Cardin. (BECAUSE ONE DOES NOT MAKE A RWBY XOVER WITHOUT CARDIN GETTING BEAT UP)**

 **Also: We've reached 10,000 views! OH MY GOODNESS. Thank you so much for all your support and helping me get this far! Leave a review, tell me what you think and I'll see you… NEXT TIME! BYE-BYE!**

 **Emiliano733: It's already here… (maniacal Tyrian laughter)**

 **NatsuSparda09828: Yep!**

 **DarthDOOM64: So… Jacob is a mix between Sun and Flynt, Evie's Pitch Black from RotG, Adé's the Female Titan. I don't really understand Arno's. Can you explain plz?**

 **Guest: Those ideas for Jack are actually very good! I'll remember them.**

 **RemaGeek: That cooouuuuuld work… I'll think about it. No. I don't watch DanTDM. I watch Markimoo and Jackaboy tho.**

 **Guest: Ayyyyy! Thanks, man! Hey, is it weird that I imagine Ezio bitch-slapping Jaune repeatedly for not noticing Pyrrha (and trying to hit on Ice Queen)?**

 **Roach99: Thanks for checking out my story, man! Means a lot, especially for you! Your story was very good, and I'm not getting anywhere near it soon but time can only tell if this is going somewhere good or horribly, horribly WRONG. AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAaaaaaa (existential crisis ensues)**


	11. The Underdog

Sparring Ring, Beacon Academy

Jaune panted heavily. He was sweating buckets and his body was quivering wearily. His opponent watched and studied him, aware of his weakness and waited for his opening.

Jaune stood himself up and charged at Adéwalé with a determined roar, but the assassin simply side-stepped his rushed attack and slammed him machete at Jaune's head, cutting his aura down significantly and sending him crashing on the ground.

Jaune was unwilling to submit, however and rose up again. He sprinted at the faunus with a downwards strike, only for Adé to raise his own blade to block Jaune's. Both men pushing their blades against one another, each vying for the upper hand. Adéwalé soon was looking down on the young knight as Jaune was trying his hardest to stand his ground.

"You have lost. Surrender now and I will not hurt you further." Adé told him in a monotone voice.

"Over my dead- DAGH!" Jaune tried to reply, only to meet the assassin's knee to his torso, sending him down on his belly and writhing in pain.

Jaune closed his eyes waiting for the finishing blow, but it never came. When he opened his eyes, he saw the faunus extending a hand for him. "Get up, _breddah_. You put up a good fight."

Jaune recognized that glint of kindness in his eye and took it, standing back up on his feet. The room now lit up brightly as the match was called off with the sound of a buzzer.

Glynda then stepped into the ring, gesturing to the displays above her. "Well class, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has entered the red. In a tournament-style match, this shows that Mr. Arc is no longer fit for battle and an official can call the match.

Adéwalé already knew this from the bar. Back then they would host a fight club and place bets in the ring. He and his brothers often fought each other and pummeled anyone brave enough to enter the ring (Jacob often volunteered against newbies).

"Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please refer to your scroll during combat. Keeping track of your aura helps you decide whether to attack or to assume a more…defensive strategy." Glynda advised the boy, speaking with a tone that showed her frustration with the boy's less than adequate combat skills.

"We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now would we?"

Some snickering could be heard from the crowd. Jaune turned to see Cardin Winchester giving him a wicked sneer while his team merely laughed with their leader. "Ha! I can't believe he lost to that animal! I could beat everyone here with my hand behind my back!"

Pyrrha gave him the evil eye, and moved to tend to Jaune's injuries.

Glynda then spoke up again. "Remember, everyone. The Vytal Tournament is only a few months away. Those fighting in the tournament will be representing the entire kingdom for all of Remnant to see, so work your hardest and fight with your top performance!"

This built much hype amongst the students. The Vytal Tournament was a time to meet fellow students from around the world and to prove your skills against the very best. Should by some miracle you won, you would earn fame and recognition as the greatest fighter of your generation.

Cafeteria, Beacon Academy

"…and there we were, in the middle of the night…" Nora began.

"It was day…" Ren corrected his friend.

" surrounded by Ursai…" Nora continued.

"They were Beowolves…" Ren interrupted.

"DOZENS OF THEM!" Nora yelled.

"Two of 'em." Ren added.

"But in the end, Ren and I took 'em down and made a buttload of lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" Nora completed her story to their bewildered friends.

Ren sighed. "She's been having this recurring dream for over a month now."

Of the four teams of students seated at the table, Pyrrha noticed her leader poking at his food with a melancholic look on his face.

"Jaune… are you okay?" Pyrrha asked him.

Jaune flinched at her words. "H-huh? No! Why?"

Connor just rolled his eyes at his response. "Something's bothering you. I can tell."

"Pfft! Nooo! I'm fine. Seriously! Look! Ehehehe…." Jaune put on a fake smile, only earning more concerned looks from his friends.

The group then heard some laughter behind them. Each turned and saw team CRDL teasing a small Faunus girl. Arno recognized this girl. Velvet Scarlatina from team CFVY (Beacon's current resident badasses).

"Jaune… Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school." Pyrrha informed Jaune.

"Cardin Winchester? Nah! He just likes to mess around, you know? Practical jokes!" Jaune replied.

"He's a bully. I know dirty blokes when I see them." Jacob rebutted.

"Oh, please! Name one time he's "bullied" me." Jaune said in denial.

"Uh… care to explain why your first scroll broke?" Edward told him.

"I dropped it!" Jaune tried to deny it.

"The time at the doorway with your shield?" Yang recounted.

"He just bumped into me! Happens all the time…right?" Jaune responded.

"The locker incident?" Evie added.

"I didn't land far from school…" Jaune still denied his friend's implications.

"Jaune, you know you can always just ask us for help, right?" Altaïr advised the boy.

"OOH! We'll BREAK HIS LEGS!" Nora and Jacob suggested in unison.

Jacob and Nora paused for a minute. "HELL YEAH! HIGH-FIVE ME!" The assassin smacked hands with the ginger.

"Seriously, guys! I'm fine! You don't need to worry about me!" Jaune protested.

"Besides! He's not just a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone!" Jaune tried to protest, only to meet raised eyebrows.

"Ow! That hurts!"

The group turned to see Cardin tugging on Velvet's ears, her brown eyes welling up with painful tears while team CRDL only laughed.

"Please stop…" Velvet insisted.

"I told you they were real! What a freak!" Cardin laughed cruelly.

At this, Connor slammed his fist on the table and stood up. His dark eyes flared with anger and killer intent. He walked over to Jacob and held out his hand.

"Knuckles. Now." Connor said in a monotone voice. Jacob didn't take his time and slipped off his brass knuckles and placed them in the assassin's hand.

"Do me a favor: Get them dirty." Jacob told Connor.

Connor then walked over to team CRDL's table. Cardin sensed someone behind him and turned. "What do YOU want yo-"

Cardin didn't finish as a fist met his jaw, leaving a large bruise. Cardin reeled back and stroked the wound. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that, you animal!"

Cardin then tried to throw his own punch back, but Connor just grabbed his fist and socked him square on the nose. Cardin was sent on his back, his nose trickling with blood. Cardin attempted to get up, but Connor pinned him down by his neck and mercilessly pounded down on his face.

Teams RWBY and JNPR were shocked by Connor's brutality. He was not holding back at all, and it scared them a bit. They cringed with every crack and smack that sounded every time Connor would pound into Cardin.

Cardin then got up from his beatdown, his face blue from all the bruises and his nose and lips dripping with blood. "What's your problem?!" He shouted at the faunus.

"You're picking on a senior student, you insult my kind, and you messed with my friends. You had this coming a long time ago." Connor replied with a growl.

Cardin tried to grab him, but the assassin grabbed both his hands and headbutted him, breaking his nose. Connor then kneed Cardin in the stomach, knocking the air out of him and sending him face-down on the floor. Connor then placed a boot over the boy's head and lifted his battered head by his brown hair.

He looked into the boy's blue eyes and said grimly, "Do not cross me, my friends, or my people ever again, or you will lose more than your dignity." Connor then flicked out his hidden blade and pointed it at his nether regions to emphasize his point, causing Cardin to shudder at his threat.

But it was at this moment that the door swung open to reveal a very, very angry Glynda Goodwitch. "What's going on here?!"

"Would you care to explain, Mr. Kenway?" Glynda asked Connor in a threatening voice.

Connor's expression didn't change and only gestured to Velvet, who was quivering in her seat. "I'm looking out for those that need my help. That is my duty, isn't it?"

Glynda blinked once, taken aback by his blunt response, but her expression returned. "You make a good point, but we would rather limit violence to the sparring ring, thank you very much. I will see you after classes today, young man."

She then turned to Cardin. "Mr. Winchester, you are excused for the rest of today until you recover in the infirmary. I will not tolerate more reports of "bullying" afterwards."

Cardin was whisked away on a stretcher, while Connor approached Velvet. The small girl then managed a small voice. "T-thanks for helping me. He made fun of my ears. Called me a freak."

To this Connor just placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why would Cardin be harassing a senior student like you?"

Velvet perked up at this question. It dawned on her that she was in fact, older than the bully. "I-I…" She stammered.

Connor looked her in the eye and said, "If you let the words of others break you, then they win. Fight for yourself and don't be afraid to stand up for yourself."

Velvet wiped away a tear from her eye and smiled. "S-sure thing. Thanks!"

Connor nodded and seated back at his table, meeting shocked looks from teams RWBY and JNPR, but whoops and cheers from teams ACEE and JAAE (and Nora). Connor turned to Blake, who on the other hand, modestly smiled at his actions.

History Class, Beacon Academy

"Yes! Yes, prior to the events of the Faunus Rights Revolution, otherwise known as the Faunus War, humanity was highly adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie, and smaller islands like Nassau." Professor Oobleck lectured, zipping left and right at abnormal speed while sipping from his thermos.

While Jaune had fallen asleep, the rest of the class was more interested in knowing how the hell the green-haired man could move and speak so quickly. Ruby could've sworn that the man moved faster than her semblance lets her as she turned her head left and right to follow Oobleck's movements.

"Now, while this does seem like ancient history to most of you, allow me to remind you that this is relatively recent events in our history! Effects of the war can be seen in our modern-day society!" Oobleck droned on.

He zipped to his table to slurp down some coffee, and sped back to his previous position. "NOW. Have any amongst you been discriminated or subjugated due to your Faunus heritage?"

Several students, including Adéwalé, Connor and Velvet raised their hands. "Hmm. Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students! It is exactly this kind of ignorance that breeds violence! I mean, just look at what happened with the White Fang!"

Oobleck sipped his coffee and inquired his students again. "Can any of you tell me what many historians believe to be the turning point in the war?"

Evie raised her hand. "The battle of Fort Castle."

"Precisely! And who can tell me the advantage the faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Oobleck continued.

But then, Cardin flicked a piece of paper at Jaune, causing him to raise his hand by accident. Oobleck noticed this and was suddenly in front of the poor boy.

"Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! Excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"

Jaune was caught in a bind. He hadn't been paying attention in class at all and knew jack about history and his world to begin with. "Uhhhh… the answer…."

Jaune then noticed Pyrrha trying to signal him with hand getures. He continued to stall as long as possible. "The advantage… of the faunus… had over that guy's stuff…"

Pyrrha pointed at her eyes, but Jaune squinted more, showing her he didn't get it. He then saw her cupping her hands over her eyes. "Um, B-binoculars!"

Jaune's response earned him laughter from the class, especially Cardin. "Very funny, Mr. Arc." Oobleck said with a slightly annoyed tone.

He noticed Cardin's response and turned to him. "Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject?"

"Well, I know for a fact that it's much easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin answered bluntly.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Altaïr responded to his answer.

"What? You got a problem?"

"No. I have the answer. It's night vision. Most faunus are known to have near-perfect sight in the dark, giving them an advantage in stealth and mobility." Altaïr elaborated, much to Cardin's discontent.

"General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the faunus in their sleep. He was caught off-guard and his entire army was overwhelmed." Blake finished, earning an impressed look from Oobleck.

"Perhaps if he'd paid more attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." Blake continued, not so subtly referring to Cardin.

"OOOOOOOOHHHH!" Jacob suddenly started up, followed by the laughter of the other students. Cardin stood up seething with rage towards Blake, but Oobleck raised his voice.

"Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat. You and Mr. Arc can see me after class for additional readings. Now, moving on!"

After class…

"You two have been struggling in my class since day one! Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest or just your stubborn nature, but whatever it is… it ends now." Oobleck lectured the two students.

"You've worked hard to earn your admission into this academy, and we only accept the best of the best, so I expect you to act like it! History is important, gentlemen! If you can't learn from it… you'll be forced to repeat it." At these words, Jaune was struck badly.

"Pages 51 to 91! I want an essay on my desk next class. Now, run along!" Oobleck dismissed the two as he rushed out the room himself.

Jaune exited the class, followed by Cardin, who shoved him to the ground with a smug chuckle. Pyrrha, who was waiting by the doorway glared at him as he walked away.

"You know, I _will_ break his legs." Pyrrha joked. But Jaune just sighed depressingly. Pyrrha furrowed her brow for a minute, then lit up like a light bulb.

"I have an idea! Here, come with me!" She ran off, dragging poor Jaune with her by the hand. She then stopped at a door, opening it to reveal a balcony overlooking the campus.

Jaune looked down the ledge, then back at Pyrrha. "Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time, but I'm not _that_ depressed. I could always be a farmer or something…"

Pyrrha's eyes widened as to what he was implying. "Wha-? NO!"

She pushed Jaune away from the ledge and explained to him, "That's not why I brought you up here! Jaune, I know you're having a hard time in class, and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so… I want to help you!"

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "W-what?"

"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us!" Pyrrha explained.

"You… think I need help?" Jaune asked skeptically.

"No! No, that's not what I meant. Jaune, everyone needs a push from time to time. It doesn't set you apart from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon. That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!" Pyrrha tried to reassure him.

"You're wrong… I-I don't belong here." Jaune responded.

"Jaune, that isn't-" Pyrrha began, only to be cut off.

"Yes it is!" Jaune burst out loudly.

"I wasn't really accepted into Beacon." Jaune finally said.

"W-what do you mean?" Pyrrha asked him.

"I mean, I didn't go to combat school! I didn't pass any tests! I didn't earn my spot at this Academy! I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied!" Jaune confessed.

"But… why?" Pyrrha asked him again.

"Because this is what I've always wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, and father before him! They were all warriors! Heroes! I wanted to be one too, but I was never good enough." Jaune ranted on.

"Then let me help you!" Pyrrha pleaded him.

"No! I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero! I'm tired of being the lovable idiot stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives, don't you understand?! If I can't do this on my own, then what good am I?" Jaune cried.

Pyrrha reached out to hold Jaune's arm, but he stepped back, refusing her kindness. "Just… leave me alone." Jaune hesitantly said.

Pyrrha looked down and turned to the door while trying to fight back a tear. "Okay. I-if that's what you think is best."

But just as Pyrrha closed the door behind Jaune, the young man heard another voice.

"Oh, Jaune…" Cardin said to him.

"Cardin?!"

"I couldn't help but overhear you from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say, Jaune. I never expected you to be such a rebel." Cardin laughed.

Jaune went pale. Being found out was one thing, but Cardin of all people? "Please, Cardin! Please don't tell anyone!"

Much to his surprise, Cardin simply replied, "Jaune! Come on! I'd never rat out a friend like that!"

"F-friend?"

Cardin then gripped him in a headlock, giving him a rough noogie on the head. "Yeah. We're friends now, Jauney boy! And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time."

Cardin then released the boy from his choking grip, letting him inhale deeply. "By the way… I didn't have time to finish that extra work Oobleck gave us tonight. How 'bout you… take care of that for me? I knew I could count on you!" Cardin sneered wickedly as he climbed back down to his dorm.

"Don't worry, Jaune; your secret's safe with me." He said one last time before he disappeared. Jaune could only stare and whimper once he realized what he had gotten himself into.

"Cardin's anything but your friend…" Jaune heard a third voice behind him.

He turned to see Altaïr leaning against the wall behind him, a disappointed look on his face.

"A-" Jaune almost said something, until the assassin covered his mouth with his hand, pointing a thumb to the door behind him. Jaune nodded and followed him.

As Altaïr shut the door, Jaune yelled, "AM I SERIOUSLY THAT EASY FOR YOU PEOPLE TO SNEAK UP ON ME?!"

Altaïr chuckled a bit from his outburst, and explained. "Probably, but it would be pretty hard to see past my semblance. Anyways… I heard everything, Jaune."

Jaune groaned. "You won't tell the others, will you?"

"No. No, I won't. I could care less about how you got into this school, actually." Altaïr answered him.

"Why did you turn down her offer, Jaune?" Altaïr asked him with a deadly stare.

"I-" Jaune stammered.

"NO!" Altaïr shouted at him, causing the blonde's eyes to widen in fear.

The assassin sighed and said, "You need to realize that nobody can fight the world on their own. We make each other stronger and that's how we grow. All of us have been where you are at some point, and we didn't become stronger on our own. We went through struggles and our friends were there to help us back on our feet. Don't you see? We wouldn't have offered you help if we didn't care for you, Jaune."

Jaune's eyes widened in epiphany, and welling up with tears. "I-I'm sorry, Altaïr. But Cardin's not gonna let me go. Not after what he knows about me."

Altaïr then got up and turned to leave, but not before saying to Jaune with a smile, "You got yourself in this mess, I have faith you will have the strength to get yourself out of it. Good night, Jaune."

The assassin then vanished from his sight, leaving Jaune alone to ponder his words.

 **Next up: Obligatory Bully Arc: Part 2!**

 **I… got nothing. Moving on!**

 **JackTheRipper01: Yeah, I have. How about this?**

 **Altaïr: Altaïr can completely cloak his aura and visibility, making him completely hidden from sight and any other sense other than touch. The longer he uses this ability, the more strain it puts on his brain and body.**

 **Ezio: Ezio's semblance is Eagle Sense. The ability increases his awareness, reflexes and senses tenfold, letting him predict his enemy's next move by reading their body language and reacting much faster than normal. Also works as short-term divination by sensing events just before they happen and very minor telepathy.**

 **Connor: He has animal spirits and can control one at a time, like in the Tyranny of King Washington. He has bear might and can summon energy wolves like Winter's summoning. He also has an eagle form the same way Qrow can turn into a bird.**

 **Edward: Edward can mark targets with his Eagle vision like he does in the game. Marked enemies can be tracked through walls and Edward's mental focus and aura is diverted to them. This lets him aim more accurately, deal additional damage and react quicker against marked enemies.**

 **Guest: Typo fixed.**

 **Guest: Thanks! Also, typo fixed.**

 **Guest: I got plans for the Pieces of Eden. Just you wait.**

 **RemaGeek: I need the pairing to seem genuine, meaning Arno and Velvet need more interactions, and right now I don't think it'll work because it'll just look random and out of the blue, but I think this pairing would be pretty cute!**

 **Emiliano733: Thanks! I'm happy that I got the Badge and the Burden part correct, because I found it hard to find the right words for that chapter.**


	12. Heroes in the Making

Team JNPR's dorm, Beacon Academy

It had been several weeks since their talk, and Pyrrha has been worrying more about what Jaune was doing with Cardin. Ever since he had rejected her offer to train with him, she had been seeing him less and less each day. Was it something she said? Was he actually displeased with her?

"How come Jaune always gets back so late?" Nora asked her team while bouncing up and down on her bed.

Ren, who was polishing his guns agreed with her, "Indeed, he's become rather scarce ever since he's been fraternizing with Cardin."

"Yeah, weird. Doesn't he know about the field trip tomorrow? We need our rest!" Nora said as she pirouetted mid-jump and plopped down on her bed.

"I'm sure he knows exactly what he's doing." Pyrrha said with a slightly rougher voice.

"Speaking of which, you're acting up too, you know?" Nora pointed at the redhead.

Pyrrha flinched. "Pardon?"

"Since the night with Jaune, you haven't been in a good mood lately. Is it about him?" Ren asked Pyrrha.

Pyrrha blinked twice and then shook her head. "N-no, no. I'm fine."

But unbeknownst to the team, their leader was listening in from a barely open door. Jaune closed the door softly so they couldn't hear, and sighed in regret. What had he gotten himself into? First Cardin blackmails him and now his team's suspicious of him! _"What the hell was I thinking?"_ Jaune thought to himself.

"Hey, Jaune!" He heard a squeaky voice call out behind him.

"Dah! H-hi, Ruby!" Jaune greeted the girl awkwardly.

"Long time no see! Did you lock yourself out again?" Ruby asked.

"Uh, no! I got it!" Jaune held out his scroll, showing her he still could get in.

"So, where have you been lately? I don't see you hanging out with Pyrrha and the others very often." Ruby asked the boy.

Jaune sighed in defeat and confessed, "I messed up. I said something I shouldn't have and now Cardin's got dirt on me and Pyrrha won't even talk to me… I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have come here."

Jaune then slid his back down the door until his butt plopped onto the floor. "I'm a failure."

"Nope!"

"Nope?" Jaune looked up at Ruby.

"Nope!" Ruby repeated again.

"You're a leader now, Jaune. You can't be a failure." Ruby told him.

"But what if I'm a failure at becoming a leader?" He asked her.

"Hmmmm… Nope!" Ruby bluntly repeated.

Jaune laughed a bit from her response. "You know, you're not the best person to talk to about this kind of stuff."

Ruby sat down next to him. "Nope! Listen, Jaune. You may have been a failure when you were a kid…"

"Ughhh…" Jaune groaned and slumped down lower.

"You may have been a failure when we first met…"

"Uuughhhh…" Jaune groaned again and slid down on his back.

"…but you can't be a failure now. You know why?" Ruby asked the boy.

"Uhhh, why?" Jaune asked her.

"Because it's not just about you anymore. You've got a team now, Jaune! If we fail, they come down with us. We need to put them first, and us second." Ruby told him, remembering the words Altaïr told her that evening in the hallway when she had her own doubts.

"Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune, and I think that could be you." Ruby told him before standing up and walking to her dorm room.

"You think so?" Jaune asked her, his blue eyes shining with hope.

Ruby smiled and answered him, "I know so. Have a good night, Jaune."

Jaune reached for his scroll to open his dorm room, until he heard it ringing. He pressed the answer button and Cardin's voice came from the device. "Hey, it's your buddy Cardin! I know you're probably busy with that dust project I gave you, but I'm gonna need you to nap a bag full of rapier wasps. And be sure they've got reaaaaally big stingers! It's important, so don't screw it up!"

Jaune sighed and headed down the hallway to the courtyard. I mean, did he really have a choice?

Forever Fall, Vale

The bullhead touched down in the crimson landscape of the forest of Forever Fall. As the students stepped down from the vehicle, most had their eyes and mouths open, gazing in awe at the beauty of the forest.

The sun's light shone through the canopy in a way that lit up the rich red of the leaves, creating a warm and soothing atmosphere that was pleasing to the eye in the way the golden rays shone through the treetops in narrow paths of light.

The students could hear the melody of birds tweeting in the distance and the crisp rustling of the leaves underneath their feet. But they could easily see where the forest earned its name. Rose-red leaves were always falling from the branches, creating a beautiful scene of red snowing onto the ground through the eternal autumn.

Connor soaked in the atmosphere around him and couldn't help but smile in the slightest. He took a deep breath, taking in the cool scent of fall and the slight perfume of rose petals, causing his wolf ears to flex to his breaths. He exhaled, and was at peace. This sense was a sort Connor rarely found, and that was why he loved to come back to the forest, to settle down from the world around him and be at peace with himself.

"Yes, students. The forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful, but we are not here to sight-see." Glynda informed the class walking behind her.

"Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to keep you alive while doing so." She instructed the group, and came to a stop, causing Jaune, who was hauling six glass jars and a briefcase to accidentally bump into Cardin.

"Each of you must collect one jar of red sap from the trees. However, be alert, for this forest is filled with creatures of Grimm, so remember your training and be on guard. We will rendezvous back at the bullhead by four o'clock. Have fun!" Glynda dismissed the class, causing the students to disperse, each carrying with them a single jar.

Pyrrha turned to leave with her friends, but looked back at Jaune. He was being pulled by the arm by Cardin. "Come on buddy, let's go!" The larger boy sneered at Jaune.

Pyrrha sighed melancholically and went off into the forest. What had happened between them?

Around an hour later…

Jaune staggered to a patch of trees, where team CRDL were sitting around, doing nothing. He set down the six jars and face-planted down on the grass in fatigue.

"Hey, great work, Jauney-boy! That wasn't too hard, wasn't it?" Cardin laughed at him.

"I-I think I'm allergic to this stuff…" Jaune stammered with a nasal voice.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I bet you're wondering, "Why did my buddy Cardin ask me to fill up six jars of sap, when there's only five of us?" Cardin said to the blonde.

"That is one thing I was wondering today, yes." Jaune answered.

Cardin sneered and dragged him by the arm. "C'mon. I'll show you!"

The group of five peeked over a small hill, overlooking the rest of the class filling their jars.

Jaune turned to Cardin worriedly. "Um Cardin, what's this?"

Cardin's eyes narrowed. "Payback."

Jaune followed his gaze to see a certain faunus. "Connor?"

"That animal thinks he's so high and mighty! "Standing up" for his own filthy kind! And he has the balls to beat me up? I think it's time I make him heel." Cardin then reached behind him to bring out a box, with loud buzzing audible from the inside.

"Alright, guys. Last night, Jauney-boy here managed to round up a box full of rapier wasps. Now, according to an essay you kindly offered to write for me last week, these little monsters looove sweets! How's about _you_ teach him a lesson?"

"M-me?" Cardin then yanked Jaune's arm up and slapped the jar into his hand.

"Hit 'em with the sap! Do it, or I'm having a chat with Goodwitch, and you're on an airship outta Beacon first thing next morning!" Cardin threatened him.

Jaune was stunned. How could Cardin make him hurt one of his friends? He raised his arm, but stopped. He remembered Ruby's words to him the other night.

" _It's not just about you anymore. We need to put them first and ourselves second."_ Ruby's words repeated in his mind over and over. His eyes widened and realized what he had to do.

"No." Jaune said, lowering his arm.

"What did you just say?" Cardin asked him threateningly.

"I said… NO!" Jaune shouted out the last part as he threw the jar of sap at Cardin. Cardin looked down to see his armor stained with red sap. He laughed wickedly and glared at Jaune.

"Oh, you're in for it now. Grab him!" Cardin called to his team, who pulled Jaune in for a beating.

Elsewhere…

"Did anyone else hear that?" Ezio asked as his ears perked up.

Connor sniffed the air a bit. "Smells sweet. Did anyone spill some sap?"

Everyone just shrugged, not really understanding what the two were talking about.

Meanwhile…

Jaune was thrown onto the ground, coughing up blood as he tried to push himself back up on his feet. But Cardin only picked him up by his neck and decked him across the face.

"You know that wasn't very smart, Jauney-boy. I'll be sure to send you back to mommy in teeny, tiny pieces." Cardin mocked him as he picked Jaune up by the collar of his hoodie.

Jaune coughed again as the sting of pain throbbed against his bruised cheek. "I don't care what you do to me. But you are not messing with my friends."

Cardin only scoffed. "What? You think talk like that makes you tough? Think you're a big, strong man now?"

To this, Jaune only gave a small, dorky grin. Cardin reeled back his fist again, but as he hit Jaune, a bright light burst from his body, causing Cardin's hand to throb. Jaune looked down on his wounds, only to see them gone and completely healed.

But he was immediately kicked down on his belly, and looked up to see Cardin cracking his knuckles. "Let's see how much of a man you really are."

But before they could get down to business, they heard a loud roar from the woods. The five teens looked behind them to see a massive Ursa Major bounding towards them. The creature was twice the size of any Ursa they've seen, with long bone spikes jutting from its back. The students stood there, frozen in fear and unable to move or run away.

The Grimm sniffed the air and looked down at Cardin, whose armor was splattered with sticky tree sap.

"That's a big Ursa!" Russel screamed in fear as he bolted off with the rest of his team. Cardin was about to get up and follow them, but he was smacked aside by the Ursa's paw. Jaune stared up in terror, but seemed to realize that the beast paid no attention to him as it turned to face Cardin. The boy raised his mace, but it was knocked out of his hand, leaving Jaune with a choice.

Elsewhere…

Jacob perked up at the sound of loud roaring in the distance. "Did any of you guys hear that?"

Just then, team CRDL ran past, but without their leader. "Ursa! Ursa!" Russel screamed as he ran.

Yang grabbed him by the collar as he passed by. "What? Where?!" Yang asked him.

Russel pointed behind him. "Back there! It's got Cardin!"

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she dropped her jar on the ground. "Jaune!"

"Yang, you and Blake get Professor Goodwitch! The rest of you, be on the lookout! There could be more!" Ruby ordered the group as she ran off with Pyrrha, Weiss and Altaïr.

The four of them ran up the hill until they saw Cardin trying to crawl away from a massive Ursa.

The Grimm raised its paw to slash down on the boy, but it only felt hard metal. Jaune pushed against the bear Grimm with his shield, trying to gain the upper hand. Weiss got ready to strike, but Pyrrha held her hand in front of her. "Wait!"

Jaune pushed his shield up and swiped at the Ursa's neck. He then rolled aside to dodge a downwards slam from the Grimm's paw, and jumped up, missing a sweeping claw. But as he was in the air, the Ursa struck him in the torso, sending him flipping backwards. But undeterred, he lunged at the Ursa again, but it managed to hit him in the back, sending him rolling on the ground.

Jaune looked at his scroll to see that his aura was in the red. Nonetheless, he got up and charged, raising his sword. The Ursa charged him too, arm swinging down for a powerful strike.

However, Pyrrha raised her arm and shifted it, her hand glowing with a dim aura. Jaune's shield glowed the same way, causing the shield to independently move up with Jaune's arm. The Ursa's paw struck the shield with hard impact, letting Jaune finish the beast with a clean upwards strike at the neck, beheading the creature and killing it.

Pyrrha smiled and lowered her arm, her friends stunned with open jaws.

"Uhhh… what?" Ruby asked with bewilderment.

"What sorcery is this?!" was all Altaïr could muster at the scene.

Pyrrha smiled and explained. "Well, Ruby has her speed, you have your invisibility. My semblance is polarity."

Ruby gasped in awe. "Whoooaaa… you can control poles…"

"No, you dunce! That means she has control over magnetism!" Weiss corrected her partner.

"Ohhh… magnets are cool too." Ruby gasped again.

Pyrrha turned to leave, causing Ruby to grab her arm. "Wait! Where are you going? We gotta tell them what happened!"

"We could… or perhaps, we could keep it our little secret." Pyrrha answered her, gazing at Jaune sheathing his sword in victory.

Jaune reached out an arm to Cardin, which he took. "Holy shit, Jaune?"

Jaune only glared at him. "Don't mess with my friends… ever again. Got it?"

Cardin only responded with an expression of guilt written on his face. Jaune looked into his eyes, and saw sincerity in them, causing him to brighten up inside. He then walked off to join the others, meeting Altaïr leaning on a tree trunk.

"See? I always knew you could take care of yourself." Altaïr beamed at him.

"Yeah, thanks! But right now… I have an apology to make." Jaune sighed, looking to Pyrrha walking in the distance.

Beacon Academy, later that night…

Jaune gazed at the campus in the beautiful moonlight. He was standing on the balcony from before, his blonde hair catching a subtle breeze. He heard footsteps behind him and smiled.

"No Cardin tonight? I thought you two were best buds?" Pyrrha asked him.

Jaune sighed. "Pyrrha, I'm sorry. I was being such a jerk. You were only trying to be nice and I-I had all this stupid macho bull in my head-"

Pyrrha then cut him off with a bright gleam across her face. "Jaune, it's okay. Your team really misses their leader, you know?"

Pyrrha then turned to leave. "You should come down. Ren made pancakes! But no syrup though, you can thank Nora for that."

But Jaune wasn't done and raised his hand. "Wait! I-I know I probably don't deserve this after what happened, but… would you still be willing to help me? To train me to fight better."

Pyrrha smirked and pushed Jaune down on his feet. "Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground."

"It keeps you from falling over and gives you more power in your attacks and defense." They heard a voice behind them say.

They caught sight of a red glow shining around a humanoid figure, eventually appirating into Altaïr.

"I hope you don't mind, but how would you like a second trainer?" Altaïr asked the two with a smile.

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow and said, "Well first, we need to see if you're qualified. You and me. Now."

Altaïr drew his sword. "Fine by me."

 **Next up: Vol. 1 Finale: Part 1!**

 **Hello! I like how well the story's progressing, and honestly, I'm excited to move past Vol. 1 and delve deeper into the RWBY plotline. Headcanons and possibilities have been blowing up in my mind, and most of them concern Vol. 4. I'm just hoping I can survive until then, and I'm particularly excited to get to Vol. 2! Also: OH MY FUCKING GOD. RWBY CHIBI: SEASON 2! Penny is so adorable and the textures are simply amazing! Anyways, I'm kinda worried that I'm not including the assassins enough, but I guess that's what happens when you have eight of them running around Beacon. Anyway, stay patient, leave a review and I will see you all… NEXT TIME! BYE-BYE!**

 **Not a lot of reviews last chapter… meh.**

 **Emiliano733: Yeah, I know. That's why I was concerned with inputting his animal spirit abilities. I'd like to know how to properly put it in. (HURRY THOUGH I WILL PROBABLY USE CONNOR A BIT MORE IN THE NEXT ARC)**

 **Guest: Speaking of which, the dominant suggestion's been Aveline x Connor, but do me a favor, y'all. When you're leaving a suggestion. Tell me why specifically. I wanna know how this can be beneficial and logical. PS, I'm leaning towards Blake x Connor because it seems to make sense based on how I've done it, but I also really like Blake x Sun in particular because of the two's interactions with their opposite personalities , which are a key part in the Menagerie Vol. 4 arc. I'm leaning toward a more sibling-like love between Connor and Blake, but feel free to argue or give me your opinion.**

 **SW11037: Yeah, you gotta have it in every RWBY fic. Adé's a ram faunus. Most likely he has hooves instead of feet, or a tail. IDK, whichever one of the two works, because Adé walking around with those horns sticking out of his fuzzy dome just feels weird to visualize.**

 **RemaGeek: Didn't they say semblances had to be exclusive to the user? This is basically Blake's. I'd prefer something different, but this is pretty cool to visualize, and it'd be cool for Shay to have this ability.**


	13. Inner Animal

Downtown Vale

The streets of Vale were normally quite humble, blocks of houses and shops lining the streets. The bustling city didn't have the refined and sophisticated sheen of Atlas or the natural and mystical atmosphere of Mistral, but Vale was a place anybody could feel home and settle down for a day of peace and quiet.

But with the Vytal Festival coming up, everybody in Vale was excited to learn that this year, they would be hosting the spectacular event. Balloons and banners of all colors lined the streets and houses as the people of Vale opened their doors to the rest of Remnant.

Teams RWBY and ACEE walked down the busy streets gazing in wonder at the spectacle the townspeople had put together in honor of the Festival. Festive music filled the air and men were hanging up banners and signs over their shops and homes.

"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss exclaimed in uncharacteristic joy.

Ruby took notice of this. "I don't think you've ever smiled this much, Weiss. It's kinda scary."

Connor smiled. "It's not hard to see why we shouldn't. People from every kingdom will be coming here. A nice chance to socialize and interact with new ideas and personalities."

"Dances, parades. The DAMN TOURNAMENT!" Edward interjected.

"The amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" Weiss stated.

Yang sighed and joked, "You know, you really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring."

"Quiet, you!" Weiss hissed back.

"Care to explain why you invited us over to visit the docks on this lovely afternoon?" Altaïr asked.

"Ugh! They smell like fish!" Ruby gagged as she pinched her nose in disgust.

"Oh, you think?" Ezio sarcastically asked her.

"I've heard that exchange students from Shade Academy are arriving today! And as a representative of Beacon, I feel it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!" Weiss proclaimed to her friends.

Blake turned to the group and bluntly said "She wants to spy on them so she can gain the upper hand in the tournament."

Weiss scoffed with her arms crossed. "Pfft! You can't prove that!"

"Whoa…" Edward pointed to his right, causing the eight teens to see a shop covered in police tape, with a couple of detectives investigating the scene.

They walked over to the crime scene, where Ruby asked the officer, "What happened?"

"Robbery. Second dust shop this week. This place is turning into a jungle." The detective answered Ruby.

"Who do you suspect?" Connor asked them.

One of the two piped up. "Torchwick and his pack of 'Blighters'? Maybe it's that new group popping up. What was it? The Rooks? Word is those sons 'a bitches moved in all the way from Mantle."

The bearded cop replied to him, "Nah, it couldn't be them. They left all the money again. Thinkin' the uh… White Fang?"

"Well, I think we don't get paid enough." His partner joked.

"The White Fang. Hmph. What an awful bunch of degenerates!" Weiss scoffed.

Blake turned to the heiress with narrowed eyes. "What's your problem?"

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss argued.

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths! They're just misguided!" Blake replied.

"Misguided?! They want the eradication of humanity altogether!" Weiss yelled at Blake.

Blake flinched at her statement. "Well… then they're _very_ misguided. Still, why would they rob some random Dust shop in the middle of the city?"

Connor spoke up. "She has a point. Besides, the police never did apprehend Torchwick. He seems to be a likely culprit."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "But still! It doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are nothing but scum! Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat and steal!"

Connor resisted the urge to lash out on Weiss, but he calmed down before he did anything brash, as did Blake.

"That isn't entirely true…" Ezio started, but was cut off by a voice yelling from the docks.

"Hey! Stop that faunus!" A sailor yelled, chasing a young man on the deck. He had spiky blonde hair, an open white shirt that flaunted his abs, and a yellow monkey tail, giving away his animalistic trait.

"Haha! Thanks for the ride, guys!" He shouted out to his pursuers, leaping off the ship and down the pier, where he managed to nab a banana from a nearby fruit stand, hanging upside down from a lamppost by his tail.

"You no-good stowaway!" The sailor yelled at him, shaking his fist.

"Shut up! I'm a _good_ stowaway! Otherwise, I would've been caught!" He quipped while peeling his snack, throwing the skin at a detective chasing him. He then jumped off of his perch and up to the streets, where he passed teams RWBY and ACEE.

But when he passed Blake, she was able to catch the quick wink he gave her as he ran past them into the city.

Everyone stood there, confused before Ezio tapped Weiss's shoulder. "Well, are we going to 'welcome' the man or not?"

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss said before tailing the faunus with the others following behind.

They rounded a corner, catching sight of the detectives disappearing behind another block. Weiss ran ahead, but crashed into someone, sending both tumbling on the pavement. Weiss rubbed her head and looked in front of her to see the faunus jumping atop a building and out of sight.

"Drat! He gave us the slip!" Weiss cursed.

"Uuuhhh… Weiss?" Ezio pointed in front of Weiss.

Weiss turned to see a young girl, probably Ruby's age. She had green eyes and wore overalls over a blouse. Her cheeks were dotted with freckles and her curly ginger hair decorated with a pink bow, but to Weiss, there was something…off about her. Her eyes were definitely similar to anyone else's, bright with emotion and personality, but she couldn't ignore the odd glassy shine that formed on her orbs, irises flicking left and right like a machine scanning its surroundings.

Weiss backed away in surprise, and the girl spoke. "Salutations!"

"Um… hi?" Edward awkwardly returned her odd greeting with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you… okay?" Yang asked her, noting her strange behavior.

"I'm fine! Thank you for asking!" The girl politely answered the blonde.

"Would you like to get up then?" Altaïr asked her, noticing she still hadn't got up from the pavement and was still lying down flat on the sidewalk.

The girl paused for a second. "Yes."

She then proceeded to push her hands off of the pavement, gracefully flipping herself back on her feet.

"My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Ezio paused for a minute when he heard her name. "Penny?"

"Hi, Penny. I'm Ruby!"

"I'm Weiss."

"Altaïr."

"Er… Ezio."

"Connor."

"Blake."

"Name's Edward!"

"You sure you didn't hit your head?"

Edward then quickly elbowed Yang, signaling her cue. "O-oh! I'm Yang!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny said to them with a smile.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "You just said that…"

Penny stood still for a moment, and then resumed her cheerful expression. "So I did!"

"Well Penny, sorry for running into you!" Weiss said as she joined the group around the corner.

"Take care, friend!" Ruby called out with a wave before following suit.

The group rounded the block and walked down the street with an awkward atmosphere between them.

"She was… weird." Yang noted.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I noticed. Now! Where did that faunus riff-raff run off to?"

But as she walked, she came to a stop when she saw Penny right in front of her with wide eyes. "What did you call me?"

Yang's face turned pale and began to stutter. "Oh! I-I'm sorry! I didn't think you heard me!"

Penny turned to Yang with those glassy eyes and spoke in a blank voice. "No. Not you."

Penny then moved past Yang and stood in front of Ruby. "You!"

Ruby's face turned red and stuttered uncontrollably. "W-wha-? M-me? B-but I don't… uh- I mean…"

"You called me friend! Am I really your friend?" Penny asked her.

Ruby looked over Penny's shoulder to see the others shaking their heads and crossing their arms, and Edward held up a sign saying "STRANGER DANGER!" telling her to say no.

Ruby giggled awkwardly. "S-sure! Why not?"

Her friends looked on in dismay and shock, before collectively fainting.

Penny's smile grew wide. "SENSATIONAL! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

Ruby whispered in Weiss's ear, "Ooh, is this what it was like when you met me?"

"No, she seems far more coordinated." Weiss sarcastically answered her.

Altaïr spoke up. "So Penny, what is your business in Vale?"

"Oh! I'm here to fight in the tournament!" Penny cheerfully answered him.

"Wait, you're from a combat school?" Weiss asked her with a skeptical expression.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny declared with a salute.

"Umm… forgive me, but you hardly look the part." Connor interrupted her.

Yang scoffed. "Says the man wearing a dress…"

The four assassins turned to Yang with an offended look on their faces. "Excuse me, woman, these are ROBES!" Edward barked at Yang.

"Well said, brother!" Ezio slid over to Edward, slapping him a high-five.

"Wait… if you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed… rapscallion?!" Weiss asked Penny.

Penny cocked her head to the side, confused. "The… who?"

"The filthy faunus from the docks!" Weiss told her.

Blake was becoming impatient and beyond annoyed with her teammate's insensitive remarks and dismissive words. She was fed up with her insults, and now she was snapping.

"Why do you keep saying things like that?!" Blake blurted out.

"Huh?"

"Stop calling him a degenerate! Stop calling him a rapscallion! He's a person!" Blake shouted at her in anger.

Weiss's brow furrowed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the trashcan as a trashcan, or this lamppost as a lamppost?!"

Connor was starting to snap as well, but Edward put a hand on his shoulder, telling him not to make things worse between the two.

"STOP IT!" Blake yelled at Weiss.

"Stop what?! He clearly broke the law. Just you wait before he joins up with the rest of his kind in the White Fang!" Weiss rebutted, causing Blake to clench her fist and teeth in frustration and rage.

"YOU IGNORANT LITTLE BRAT!"

Weiss strutted up to Blake and put a finger on her chest. "How dare you talk to me that way! I am your teammate!"

Blake shoved her hand away and pointed at her accusingly. "You are a judgmental little girl!"

"WHAT IN THE WORLD MAKES YOU SAY THAT?! I-"

Yang, Ruby and Team ACEE stood aside, awkwardly watching the two rant back and forth with worried expressions.

"I… think we should get going." Yang spoke up amongst them.

"Give them time, hopefully they can calm down." Altaïr said.

Team RWBY's dorm, several hours later…

"Any minute now…" Edward groaned.

"Got any threes?" Altaïr asked him.

Edward sighed. "Go fish."

It had been hours and the two girls were arguing non-stop through the night. Yang and Ruby stood there, unable to intervene, Team ACEE doing the same, until Edward and Altaïr got bored and decided to play cards to pass the time.

"The fact that you associate a faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!" Blake growled at her.

"So you admit it; The White Fang _is_ just a group of radical terrorists!" Weiss threw back.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!"

"I don't understand why this is creating such a problem!"

"THAT _IS_ THE PROBLEM!"

"You do realize you're defending an organization that hates humanity? The faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" Weiss barked at Blake.

Blake stood up on her feet with narrow eyes. "There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate humanity so much?! It's because of people like Cardin, people like _you_ that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like me?!"

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!"

Every soul in the room then fell silent, not moving an inch or daring to make a sound due to the intense tension between the two girls.

Weiss sighed. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War. As in actual bloodshed."

"My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember, and ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends vanish, board members found dead…" Weiss said with cold eyes staring out the window.

Altaïr did not see this as very surprising. The Schnee Dust Company was practically running the world, but not without shortcuts to get there, stepping on the less fortunate and exploiting others to stay in power. The exact kind of people the Assassins oppose. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if he had their blood on his hands on a training mission.

"… an entire train car of dust… stolen. As if that devious snake Starrick wasn't bad enough."

Connor and Blake flinched when they heard the last part, as they were there when it happened, and it would be the last thing they would ever do for _them_.

"Every night, my father came home furious, and our mother was too depressed to do anything about it, so naturally, that made for a very difficult childhood." Weiss confessed grimly, clenching a fist in recollection of dark memories.

Ruby, feeling bad for her walked up beside her. "W-Weiss, I-"

"NO!" Weiss suddenly shouted out, turning back to Blake.

"Do you know why I despise the White Fang?! It's because they're a bunch of liars! Thieves! And murderers!" Weiss barked at Blake.

Soon, Blake couldn't take it anymore and shouted back, "WELL, MAYBE WE WERE JUST TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND!"

All of a sudden, the room fell dead silent, everyone with their eyes on Blake in disbelief. The girl stepped back, now realizing what she'd just said, and backed up fearfully. She looked over to Connor, who only stared in surprise that she had just exposed both of them to Team RWBY.

"I…" Blake began to stammer, her lip quivering in shame and fear. She then sprinted as fast as she could out the door. Connor simply sighed and got up.

"I'm sorry, I should have known we couldn't keep this hidden for long." He said to the group and followed Blake out the door.

"Blake! Connor! Wait, come back!" Ruby desperately attempted to call out to them, but they were long gone.

Edward sighed. "Oh, well. Might as well tell you their story while we're at it…"

Front Yard, Beacon Academy

Blake ran and ran, not knowing what from. Maybe her past, her regrets, or her teammates who may not even trust her anymore. She stopped to catch her breath, and looked in front of her. There stood that stone statue, a memorial to the heroes of the world, triumphing over the evil creatures that plagued it.

The statue had never changed, and Blake never really paid attention to it, but now she was looking in a different light. She saw under a stone huntsman's foot was a Beowolf, bleeding on the ground. The humans standing above the animals. Is that how the world was meant to be? Was there really nothing she could do? Her amber eyes welled up with tears as she reached up to undo her hair bow.

Clutching the black fabric in her hand, she wiped away a tear as a pair of cat ears twitched, welcoming the cool air of the night. She looked behind her and saw her longtime friend standing there, his eyes filled with sentiment and worry.

She stood there for a minute, then ran towards Connor. She buried her face in his chest, sobbing hysterically with loud, breaking cries through the night. Connor was stunned by this sudden action, feeling her wet tears soak into his clothes, but felt the need to comfort his friend. He returned her embrace with a soft hug, feeling his own heart ache over Blake's distress. "It's okay, Blake. It'll be fine."

Blake couldn't think of anything else. She had hit rock bottom and now she had potentially risked her chance at redemption over some stupid argument. She let it all out, not trying to hold back her tears. Connor had been a dear friend for as long as she could remember, and now he was the only one she could find comfort in. When she felt Connor hugging her back, she had to admit, it did feel better, almost like how her mother would kiss her on the cheek as a child before bed. She felt nothing else but her companion's warmth and the painful sting of regret as she wept openly.

Suddenly the pair heard a voice behind them. "I always knew you looked better without the bow."

Blake dried her tears and looked past Connor to see that it was the same faunus from the docks. He walked over and kindly held out a hand, which Blake shook.

"I'm Sun Wukong. Nice to meet you."

Team JAAE's dorm

Jacob stirred in his sleep, but his eyes soon fluttered open when he heard his scroll's alert. He turned on the device and saw one unread message. He opened it, recognizing the username. It read, "The docks, tomorrow night."

Jacob smiled and texted back, "I'll join up with you, tell the boys to get ready."

Jacob then shook Evie awake. "What is it?" She mumbled sleepily.

Jacob held out his scroll in front of her, and she read the message. Both assassins got dressed and left a note for Arno and Adé before jumping out the window and into the city.

 **Coming up next: Vol. 1 Finale!**

 **Hey guys! I just wanted to get this out of the way because next week I have exams. I promise I'll work on the final chapter of Vol. 1 as fast as I can, because after this, I have pretty much no homework left. How'd you like the chapter? I think this was kinda rushed compared to the other chapters. Also, I think this argument whether Connor should be paired with Blake or Aveline is getting kinda out of hand. But still, tell me what you think! Leave suggestions! Until next time!**

 **Guest: Good to know…**

 **Jack905: I'm Leo and Jun for future chapters, but they're not that far ahead so be patient!**

 **Sam Hill: Yeah, I kinda do as well, but some of those Guests have a point. Also: please be mature. I'd respect any of your opinions, but don't write a review just to flip off another Guest. Please. I don't mind you expressing your opinions, but don't get triggered, mate.**

 **Cmedina1: I don't think Maria will be in this fic, but yeah, I'd imagine the relics are Pieces of Eden.**

 **Guest: Yes, but consider the fact that Adé's not old enough to be bald yet. He's around 17 here.**

 **Batmd: Yes, yes it does.**

 **RemaGeek: How about this? Since Jacob is a fistfighter, I'd imagine Jacob's aura is extremely resistant to ranged attacks like bullets, forcing his enemies to fight him one-on-one.**

 **My opinions on Blake x Sun/ Blake x Connor:**

 **I'd think that Blake x Connor makes much more sense, but at the same time, it gets hard to rewrite something that is really built up upon throughout the series. Sun's main role seems to be Blake's love interest and his entire character exists mainly for that purpose. Besides, the two have that dynamic of serious and pessimistic with laidback and cocky, giving them an "opposites attract" vibe. But I feel that the way I've written the story indeed supports Blake x Connor. The two have been together for a long time, and it only makes sense since they greatly trust one another and because of what I've written in this chapter. Sorry if this disappoints any of you, but I'll go in that direction and work with whatever comes next.**


	14. Omens

**Team R WBY's dorm, the next morning…**

Ruby woke from bed, stretching her arms with a yawn as the morning light tickled her face. She kicked out her feet to get off, but looked down to Blake's bed to see its occupant was still missing.

Remembering the shocking turn of events from the other night, she internally slapped herself for letting her leave. But her regret was replaced with grit as she got down from her bed.

She walked over to Weiss's bed, where she was still sleeping and shook her awake. Weiss stirred as her eyes blinked open slowly. "W-what is it?..."

"Weiss, we gotta find Blake." Ruby pleaded to her sister.

"R-Ruby, don't worry about it. Faunus can take care of themselves…" Weiss said with a half-awake tone.

"No! It's my job to worry! Who knows how she's doing out there! Faunus, White Fang, whatever she is, we're a team, and I want it to be whole again." Ruby demanded, earning a nod from Yang, who got down from bed, and a reluctant sigh from Weiss, who began to dress herself.

Just then, they heard a knock on their door, which Yang opened to reveal Edward, with bags under his eyes. "Oh, 'morning Edward."

"I heard you're gonna go find Blake, are ya?" Edward asked her.

"Yeah, we are. Why are you here then?" Yang asked him.

"I…I'm coming with. You aren't the only ones with a missing team member." Edward breathed out.

"Connor can take care of himself, but that doesn't mean he won't be finding any trouble."

Ruby sighed. "Well, I just hope they're okay…"

 **Downtown Vale**

Sun fidgeted awkwardly in his chair. His eyes looked forward at the black-haired girl in front of him, calmly sipping from her cup of tea, then to his left at the six-foot-four beast, keeping a neutral expression, but from the way he squirmed awkwardly, Sun could tell that he was feeling the same way he was.

Blake set down her teacup. "So… Sun, you want to know more about us?"

Sun exhaled loudly, as if holding his breath. "Finally, she speaks! Since last night, you haven't said a thing to me but small talk and weird looks!"

Blake and Connor stared for a minute, before scowling at his quips.

"Case in point…" Sun awkwardly noted as he sipped his tea with his tail.

"Sun… are you familiar with the White Fang?" Blake asked the monkey faunus.

"Of course I have! I don't think there's a faunus on the planet who doesn't know who they are! Stupid, holier-than-thou psychos who use force to get what they want. What a buncha freaks."

Connor fiddled with his teaspoon, and bluntly said to him. "We used to be members."

At this, the poor boy choked on his tea. "Wait, you two were members of the White Fang?!"

"I was a member most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it. I'm the daughter of former High Leader Ghira Belladonna." Blake began as she travelled down memory lane.

"Back then, things were different. After the Faunus War, my father founded the White Fang with the dream of equality with humans, but obviously, it doesn't always work that easily. We were still mocked and looked down upon by the humans, subjected to discrimination and hate." Blake said, her eyes quivering from recounting the events.

"The White Fang was meant to be the voice of peace, an ambassador from our people to the rest of Remnant. I was at every protest and every demonstration. I still remember holding up signs and flags at the front of the crowd, shouting as loud as my little voice could manage."

"I thought things were changing, that we were making a difference. But I was just a naïve little kid. Five years ago, my father retired in order to govern my hometown. But in his place came a new leader, one with a much more radical vision. Nonviolent protests turned to organized attacks. We were robbing shops, stealing cargo and attacking companies that abused faunus. The worst part? It was working. The humans began to treat us as equals, but not out of respect, but fear."

Sun listened with wide eyes and a shocked expression. Connor then began his own story. "I was raised on the deserts of Vacuo, to a tribe of Faunus. My mother was a villager, but I never knew who my father was, since she never spoke of him. But one day, we were told that our land was to be purchased to make way for factories and Dust mines."

"Naturally, we refused, but we weren't prepared for what came next. Our village was in flames, and I found my mother stuck under the burning rubble. Before her death, she told me to find my father, and to seek a symbol. After honing my skills, I set out to find my father and my mother's murderers. Eventually, I found him; Commander Haytham Kenway of Atlas."

Sun then spit out his tea when he heard this. "Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight. Your _dad_ is Commander Haytham Kenway, one of the strongest soldiers in the Atlesian Army and General Ironwood's second-in-command?"

Connor looked at him blankly and answered, "Yeah, I could hardly believe it either. He took me under his wing and briefly trained me, but when I told him of the symbol my mother showed me, he was tense, but directed me to a location where he had seen the symbol. There, I completed my training and joined the White Fang, where I met Blake."

"I joined them because I wanted to realize their vision; freedom and equality for my people. But after our change in… methods, the two of us decided we no longer wanted to aid in such violence and terrorism. We deserted and came to Beacon so we could train as huntsmen and huntresses, and here we are now. Criminals hiding amongst our persecutors." Connor finished.

Sun paused after hearing their words and asked, "So, have you told your friends any of this?"

 **Elsewhere…**

"Blaaaaaake?"

"Blaaaaaaaaaaake!"

"Blaaaaaaaake, where are youuuuuuu?!"

"Weeeiiiss, you're not helping!" Ruby whined.

"You know who would help? The police!" Weiss responded.

Edward rolled his eyes and scoffed at her response.

"What? It was just an idea!"

"Yeah, a bad one…" Ruby growled.

"Weiss, I think we need to hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." Yang reassuringly suggested.

"I think that by the end of the day, you'll all see that I was right!" Weiss replied.

"And I think Weiss's hair looks wonderful today!" Penny continued.

Wait…

The four of them jumped in surprise when they noticed the girl from yesterday right behind them.

"Dah! Penny! Where'd you come from?!" Ruby exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey guys! What are you up to?" She asked with a smile.

"We're looking for our friend, Blake." Edward answered her.

"Ooooh! You mean the faunus girl!" Penny replied.

Ruby raised an eyebrow. They hadn't told anyone else about this. "Wait, how'd you know that?"

"Uh, the cat ears?" Penny said as she pointed to her hair bow.

"What cat ears? She wears a… bow…" Yang slowed down as they all realized the same thing, the air silent enough for each of them to hear the random tumbleweed rolling past.

"She does like tuna a lot." Ruby whispered in Yang's ear.

"So! Where is she?" Penny turned her head left and right, looking for the girl.

"That's the thing, Penny. She's been missing since last night." Ruby told her, earning a gasp from her.

"That's terrible! Don't you worry, Ruby my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!" Penny proclaimed as Ruby giggled awkwardly.

"Heh… that's very nice of you Penny, but-uh… we-we're okay, right guys?" Ruby looked over Penny's shoulder only to find Edward, Yang and Weiss gone, and stood there awkwardly as another random tumbleweed rolled by in the breeze.

"Hm, sure is windy today." Penny remarked.

 **Elsewhere…**

Blake, Connor, and Sun continued walking down the street, discussing their next course of action.

"So, what's the plan now?" Sun asked with his hands behind his head as he walked.

"I still don't believe the White Fang are behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before." Blake answered him.

"But… what if they did?" Sun suddenly stopped.

Blake paused too, raising a brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… the one way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go where they'd go if they were to do it, and not find them there… right?" Sun suggested awkwardly.

Connor looked at Blake. "He has a point. If they were behind these robberies, then we would need to catch them in the act."

Blake sighed. "But the problem is, I don't know where to look."

Sun scratched his chin for a bit, before snapping a finger. "Hey, while I was on the ship, I overheard some guys talking about some huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

"How big are you implying?" Connor asked him.

" _Huge._ Big Schnee Company freighter." Sun answered him.

Connor nodded. "Then we head for the docks tonight and investigate."

 **Elsewhere…**

"Thanks anyway!" Yang said to the shopkeeper they had questioned as she closed the door.

"Man, this is hopeless. Nobody's heard from her all day!" Yang groaned, and then noticed Weiss's indifferent expression.

"You don't even care if we find her or not, do you?" Yang asked Weiss.

"Don't be stupid! Of course I do! I'm just… afraid of what she'll say when we find her. The innocent never run, Yang." Weiss admitted.

Yang asked Edward, "So… he's your cousin?"

Edward nodded. "Yep. He's a good man, fights with purpose, unlike me."

Yang put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't say that. You're good enough for me. We'll get him back, I promise."

Edward smiled at Yang's words. "Thanks, Yang."

 **Elsewhere…again…**

"Sooo… Blake is your friend?" Penny asked Ruby.

"Yes, Penny."

"But you're mad at her?"

"Ye- well, I-I'm not. Weiss is." Ruby stuttered back.

"Is _she_ friends with Blake?" Penny asked Ruby again.

"Well, we can't say for sure yet." Ruby answered her.

"Why not?" Penny asked her friend.

Ruby sighed. "Well, you see… Blake might not be who we thought she was."

Penny gasped. "Is she a man?"

Ruby giggled at her response. "No, no. We think we may have got her to open up about a very private matter."

"Yeah, but she didn't exactly say much before she ran off." Ruby continued.

"I… don't have a lot of friends. But if I did, I'd want them to talk to me about things." Penny told the pair.

"Yeah, me too." Ruby agreed as the two of them continued to walk down the sidewalk.

 **Docks, Vale, later that night…**

Blake was lying down on her belly atop a shipping crate at the docks, in position. She looked ahead of her at the warehouse to see Connor perched on a vantage point jutting from the side of the building. He waved at her, signaling that he was okay.

Blake then looked to her left, to see the massive import of Schnee Dust Company cargo, each container marked with the iconic snowflake symbol.

"See anything yet?" Sun asked her, cradling a bundle of fruits in his arms.

"Not yet. They unloaded the crates from the boat, now they're just sitting there." Blake answered.

"Stole you some food." Sun kindly offered an apple to her.

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" Blake asked him with a raised brow.

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun threw back at her, earning him a frown from the girl.

"Okay, too soon." Sun joked, but the pair felt a strong gust of wind, and looked up to see a Bullhead descending from the sky with headlights shining down, looking for a landing site.

Once the aircraft had landed, several hooded figures wearing Grimm-like masks stepped down from the ramp, giving Blake, Sun, and Connor a good glimpse of their figures.

"Oh, no." Blake muttered with wide eyes.

"Is it them?" Sun asked her.

"Yes, it's them." She answered him, eying the unmistakable symbol on the back of their uniforms. A red wolf symbol with three claw marks, a sick perversion of the symbol of peace she used to fly with glowing pride.

"You knew, didn't you?" Sun asked her.

"Deep down, I knew. But I was just hoping I wasn't right." Blake admitted, but her eyes widened when she heard a certain voice.

"Okay, what's the hold up?! My employer's got a deadline on us, so why don't you animals pick up the pace?!" Roman barked at the grunts, with his own men stepping from the aircraft, wearing the red uniform of the Blighter gang.

"Something isn't right. The White Fang would never work with humans. Especially not one like _that_!" Blake unsheathed her katana and jumped down from her cover, heading straight for Torchwick.

Sun tried to grab her, but she was already far from his reach. He looked to Connor, who sighed and descended from his vantage point and went to assist his friend.

Blake spied on the gang boss from behind a shipping crate, then made her move, holding the mobster with Gambol Shroud against his neck.

"What th-? Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady!" Roman exclaimed.

The White Fang grunts and the Blighters raised their guns and blades at Blake, ready to fire. Blake then undid her hair bow, revealing her black cat ears and signifying her as a faunus.

"Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?!" Blake called out to her fellow faunus, causing them to stop and lower their weapons, but Roman only chuckled.

"What kid? Didn't you get the memo?" He asked her.

"What are you talking about?" Blake demanded.

"See, the White Fang and my Blighters are working together on a sorta… collaborative deal." Roman told her.

"Tell me where it is, or I'll put an end to your little operation!" Blake threatened, pressing the blade closer against Roman's neck.

"Oh, I wouldn't call it a _little_ operation!" Roman said as a couple more Bullheads appeared from the sky,

"Boss! Boss! They're here!" They heard a Blighter call out, before he was knocked out by a large man in a green outfit.

"Agh, for the love'a…" Roman groaned as he shot downward with his cane, blowing Blake off of her feet with an explosion.

 **Elsewhere…**

"Penny, did you hear that?" Ruby asked her as a loud boom filled her ears.

"Yes, it seemed to come from the docks." Penny informed her.

"It's them. We gotta hurry! C'mon, Penny!" Ruby called to her friend as they ran in the direction of the shipping yard.

 **Docks, Vale**

Blake opened her eyes to see White Fang and Blighters fighting with another group of gangsters, only all of them were wearing green attire.

"Look lively, Rooks! Teach these bastards a lesson!" She heard a familiar voice call out, and soon her eyes fell upon none other than Jacob Frye, calling out orders to his men while bashing heads in and slashing throats with his kukri.

"Jacob?! What're you doing here?!"

Jacob heard her and ran over to his friend, helping her back up on her feet. "Business. Can you walk, Blake?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Then take that bastard Torchwick down!" Jacob yelled as he rushed back in the heat of the gang fight.

Roman bludgeoned another Rook across the head and noticed Blake running towards him. He aimed his cane and shot a volley of explosive flares at her, each she dodged by flipping back and forth, then running behind a bunch of shipping crates.

"Here, kitty, kitty…" Roman taunted Blake, but was stunned as a banana peel was thrown onto his face. He threw it aside and looked up to see Sun jumping down on his head, sending him on his back.

"Leave her alone!" Sun growled at Torchwick.

Roman got up and charged at Sun, but was knocked aside by Connor. He nodded at Sun, who did the same, and then looked up to see a Bullhead dropping White Fang soldiers.

"Take care of them. Torchwick is mine." Connor said to him.

Sun nodded and moved toward the grunts. The first swiped at him with a blade, which he dodged and sent flying with a fist to the face. Sun smacked away another, and kicked the next grunt off of his feet. He jumped up to kick a faunus to his left, pushing himself away from a charging henchman trying to slash down on him.

As he got up, he drew his staff, knocking one in the head, and swiping two off of their feet. He delivered a combo of strikes towards a White Fang grunt in front of him, and slammed the weapon down, stunning his surrounding foes, and flipping over the final grunt to kick down on his head, knocking him out.

Connor was engaging with Torchwick, who he had to admit, was a skilled fighter. He tried to strike him, but each swipe and heave of his tomahawk only ended up deflected and countered by him. He slid down and swung his tomahawk into his leg, stunning Roman, enabling Connor to deliver a deadly combination of stabs and swings.

Blake then suddenly jumped out and sprinted toward Torchwick, yelling, "He's mine!"

Blake zipped around Torchwick, trying to confuse him by swiping in between summoning shadow clones, but Roman was absurdly fast, parrying and deflecting each swing of her sword. She tried to thrust her blade at him, but was only returned with a punch to the face and several strikes with Roman's cane, knocking her down easily.

Jacob soon charged at him, drawing his blades. He swung down, only for Roman to block the hit, But Jacob slashed at his exposed throat with his kukri, and quickly fired a revolver bullet, unleashing a combo of quick punches and shots. Jacob grabbed him by the collar of his suit and slammed his skull into his, stunning him and grabbed his neck with both hands, before thrusting a knee into his face. Jacob swerved to the right to avoid a gunshot from a Blighter behind him, and ran to deal with him, but this gave Roman time to get up and shoot him in the back with an explosive flare. Jacob's aura shielded him from the blast, but Roman soon was able to stun Jacob, sending him barreling down with another volley of explosive shots and several good strikes to the head.

He was about to finish Jacob when he heard a voice. "Hey!"

Roman looked up to see Ruby, wielding Crescent Rose. Recognizing her from that night at the dust shop, he greeted her, "Oh hey, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Ruby, are these people your friends?" Penny asked Ruby.

"Penny, get back!" Ruby warned her, only to be caught off-guard as an explosive round hit her straight in the face, sending her flying backwards.

Penny's innocent expression soon faded, replaced by an angry glare. Nobody was gonna mess with her best friend.

"Penny, wait! Stop!" Ruby tried to call to her friend when she saw her stepping forward.

"Don't worry, Ruby! I'm combat ready!" Penny proclaimed.

As she said this, a compartment on her back opened up, revealing a set of swords that seemed to be connected to thin and transparent strings, much like a puppet's.

She jumped off of the shipping crate and threw down some blades at the White Fang and Blighters, sending them sprawling on the ground. She stood up, her swords pointing at the ready.

She swiped at her right, and the blades followed her hand, hacking away at approaching thugs, and threw her fist to her left, pinning a lone thug against a shipping crate. A couple more grunts charged her, but she summoned her blades in front of her to spin as a shield, knocking off any approaching enemies, and flipped up, the swords forming a wheel around her, disorienting another gangster heading her way.

A large group of thugs approached, but Penny simply threw her arm forward, sending the wheel of blades shooting towards the group, knocking each of them off of their feet.

Three Bullheads approached from the sky, raining bullets down on the girl, who blocked the fire with her spinning wheel of swords. She then shot out two new swords from her back, anchoring them against the warehouse. Using that, Penny was pulled backwards against the wall, and held up her arms in front of her. The swords then formed a circle and began to shift, forming a firearm appearance, then spinning in a circular motion rapidly.

A glowing orb of energy then formed in the middle of the swords, and Penny pulled back her arms and pushed them forward, unleashing a devastating beam of energy that cut each Bullhead in two like butter.

Penny then turned her attention to a retreating Bullhead trying to escape with a shipping container, but Penny pierced the aircraft's hull with six swords, and stood her ground, pulling the vehicle back with her steps, while Ruby only stood in awe of the spectacle she was witnessing.

"Whoa… how is she doing that?!" Ruby said to herself.

Penny smirked, and gave a final yank, tugging the Bullhead back down to Earth in a mighty explosion.

Roman only stared in disbelief from his Bullhead. "I swear, these kids just keep getting weirder!"

Roman then heard a gun cock behind him before the vehicle could take off. "Who said we would let you leave?" Evie asked him with a growl, her rifle pressed against his skull.

"I do." Evie heard a dark, growling voice behind her. She looked behind her to see a dark-robed figure wearing a mask over his face, but was caught off-guard when he threw down a gas bomb, which Evie accidentally inhaled, causing her to hyperventilate and hallucinate with shrieks and wide eyes.

"This is the last time I save your arse, Torchwick!" Jack grabbed Roman and threw down a smoke bomb, covering their escape.

As Evie's vision and mind cleared, she noticed both men were gone, and she mentally kicked herself. "Dammit…"

 **A couple minutes later…**

Blake, Connor, Sun, Penny, Ruby, Jacob and Evie were sitting down as police investigated the scene. But as they turned to the sound of footsteps, Ruby saw Weiss, Yang and Edward approaching.

Weiss made eye contact with Blake, both of them sensing the tension between them. Ruby piped up, trying to explain to Weiss. "Look Weiss, it's not what you think. She doesn't wear a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kinda cute…"

Blake did the same. "Weiss, I want you to know I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was-"

"Stop!" Weiss interrupted her.

"Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you?" Weiss asked her, returned with only silence.

"Twelve hours. That means I had twelve hours to think about this, and in those twelve hours, I've decided… I don't care!" Weiss said.

Blake gave her a skeptical look. "Y-you don't care?"

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"Not since I was-" Blake stuttered, only to be interrupted by her teammate.

"Upupupup! I don't wanna hear it. All I want from you, is that the next time something this big comes up, you'll come to your teammates, and not some… someone else."

Blake gave her a small smile, mending the rift between the two girls. "Of course."

Weiss returned the gesture, and Ruby was ready to explode with joy. "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!"

Weiss then turned to Sun. "I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you!" Sun awkwardly laughed, and Edward walked up to Connor.

"Why'd you run off, man?"

"Because… what are friends for?" Connor answered him, gazing at Blake, who was laughing with her team.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it went further than that, mate." Edward joked with a grin.

His face then turned more sincere and joyful, and he put his hands on his cousin's shoulders. "I'm proud of you mate, and I'm sure your dad would feel the same."

Connor smiled and hugged his cousin, happy to see him again after a long day.

"Wait, where's Penny?" Ruby asked.

Unbeknownst to the rest, Penny was in a car. The driver had long, brown hair covered by a red cap, his attire adorned with pouches and a red cape. "Penny, please try not to wander off on your own. Your father would be worried sick."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Da Vinci." Penny apologized with her head hanging in guilt.

"But don't worry, my child. Your time will come. How about we get you patched up at my workshop?" He asked Penny.

"That would be delightful. Thank you, Mr. Da Vinci." Penny replied with a smile.

 **Headmaster's office, Beacon Academy**

Ozpin stared at the live feed of Ruby, thanking Oum she was unharmed. He then felt his scroll vibrate, and opened his notification feed to see a message from none other than Qrow Branwen.

The message read: THE QUEEN HAS PAWNS. ALSO: _HE'S_ BACK. WHAT'RE YOU GONNA DO?"

Ozpin noticed Qrow had sent him a picture under the text. He opened the file and stared with wide eyes. Atop a building was a familiar figure, dressed in a black and red robe adorned with the unmistakable red cross pâté. The hunter had returned to Vale.

 **Downtown Vale**

Roman loaded his suitcase, with Jack closely behind him, scraping his knives against one another.

"Can you stop that?! My ears are bleeding!"

"Your little slip-up at the docks has _her_ quite pissed. Like she'll let you leave without her say." Jack casually replied with a growl.

"Oh, calm down will y-" Roman began, only to be silenced as a fireball exploded beside his feet.

"How very disappointing, Roman." A sultry voice called from the darkness.

Roman's hair stood on end as he whirled around in surprise. "Whoa! Hehe… wasn't expecting to see you here so soon…"

The woman stepped from the shadows, her sharp and perfect features glowing in the light. She wore a red dress that exposed her legs, and her jet-black hair arranged beautifully down one side of her face, leaving one eye glowing with a flaming gold that could burn Roman's soul to a crisp.

"We were expecting… more from you."

"About time you showed up, Fall. I've been having to save this pig's arse over and over again." Jack snarled, pointing at Torchwick with his blades.

Roman chuckled uncomfortably. "W-well, you were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang."

"And you will continue to do so. I expect to see more out of one of Starrick's most trusted associates. All we ask is a little cooperation, and maybe you'll live to see Beacon burn." Cinder said to him, cradling a fireball in her dainty palm.

 **Coming up next: THE. MOST. KICKASS. FOOD FIGHT. EVAAAAAAAA!**

 **So that's a wrap for Vol. 1! I rushed through this one quickly in a single day, just because I was in a writing mood. I hope this was a good way to end Vol. 1. NOW, after this is Vol. 2, and so on. Prepare to see new characters from Assassin's Creed, familiar faces and more shenanigans! Leave a review, stay tuned for the next chapter, and as always, I will see you… in the next chapter! BYE-BYE!**

 **Guest: Uhhh nooo…**

 **Emiliano733: Yeah, he's still a very funny character and I really hope they give us more Team SSSN in Vol. 5!**

 **RemaGeek: I dunno. Any ideas?**

 **JackTheRipper01: That's the plan, m8.**

 **Sam hill: I'm reserving that spot for Haytham, thank you very much.**

 **Batmd: Nah, I can't find a scenario for that.**

 **: Awww, thanks!**

 **Connor x Blake: Okay, I can see this as a brother/sister relationship, but for the moment, I'll leave my story be and see how it plays out by Vol. 2.**

 **Speaking of which… I have this weird headcanon for the dance night. Picture this: Jaune realizes Pyrrha loves him, so he asks Team ACEE for help. They're playing as a band that night, and he has a song request: Shine. Pyrrha looks to the stage, sees Jaune, in a DRESS and tries to hold in her laugh like the others, but is instantly shut up when she hears his singing voice, and soon finds herself in a duet with him, dancing their worries away.**

 **I KNOW. Cheesy, right? Tell me whether this looks cute or whether it should burn like the spawn of hell it is.**


	15. The Longest Lunch

**Downtown Vale, several months later…**

Vale woke up to a new morning, the sun shining bright in the bright blue void and wisps of white cloud scattered across the vast canvas of sky. The sound of newly arriving airships filled the atmosphere, most of which heading for the same location: Beacon Academy.

The Vytal Festival was in full swing, and many were making ready in the upcoming weeks, eagerly counting down to the Vytal Tournament, an annual moment everybody would be cheering on their kingdom and watching the next generation of huntsmen and huntresses testing their might and defending their kingdom's honor.

Down the street, one particular shop was hanging up a new banner. The old shopkeeper of "From Dust 'Till Dawn" was eager to open his shop's doors once again after recovering from a robbery from Roman Torchwick. He was pretty relieved that little girl was there to fend them off.

The shopkeeper was about to get the banner up, but slipped as his ladder was accidentally knocked over, causing the old man to fall down to the pavement, rubbing his head.

"Oh! Sorry about that! I'm not really from around here." He heard a voice say in front of him.

He looked up to see a teenage girl. She had dark, brown skin with mint-green hair cut short above her shoulders, with eyes colored a deep, muted red. She wore a cropped undershirt with a white top that didn't exactly hide much, and skinny white pants with brown chaps. She kindly held out her hand, which he happily took.

She then held out a flyer to the man and asked, "Can you point me in the direction of this shop? I don't exactly know my way around this place."

The shopkeeper stared at the piece of paper and smiled, pointing her in the direction of her destination. She smiled back at him and waved him thank you, rounding a corner where another man was waiting.

He was a young man, wearing a grey and black jacket with sleeves ending just before the elbow, where his forearms were covered by fingerless gauntlets protected by vambraces. His hair was steel-gray, slicked back, but messily fell in locks over his eyes in the front.

"I knew you were lost." He taunted his partner.

Emerald groaned and shoved a wallet into his face. "Mercury, I will seriously pay you to shut up!"

Mercury just stared at her blankly. "That isn't your money."

"But it could be yours for a few minutes of silence!" Emerald bargained with the teen.

But Mercury simply shook his head. "Meh, no deal."

Emerald growled at him and slapped down the wallet at his feet. "Hmph. Fine."

Mercury chuckled at her with a shit-eating grin. "Whatever. You want me."

The pair walked down the streets of Vale, observing the crowds of people and the many different buildings. They would remember the way it looked before it would all burn to the ground.

"So… how much farther?" Mercury asked Emerald.

"A few more blocks."

"Uuuugh… This place is so dull…" He groaned.

"I kinda like it. Nice buildings, diverse culture…" Emerald said.

"…and nice, dopey people who are easy to pickpocket." Mercury finished.

"That's _every_ city."

"Ooh! Emerald, master thief! Please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by…" Mercury jokingly said, causing said woman to scowl and continue walking.

"Hmph. This city's not the only thing that's dull." Mercury said, not so subtly referring to his partner.

The pair came upon a bookshop at the end of the street and entered. The building was small and modest, with a dim light illuminating the room. Mercury stopped by a random shelf and began flipping through some books, and Emerald walked up to the counter and rang the bell on top.

"Just a second!"

Soon, a large man rushed in, carrying a large pile of books in his arms. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun."

He set down the books and turned to face his customers. "Now! How may I…"

He got a good look of who was in his shop, and all of a sudden, the light in his eyes dimmed. "…how may I help you?"

"Just browsin'." Mercury said, slamming a book shut.

Emerald however, raised her finger. "Actually, I was wondering… do you have any copies of _The Thief and the Butcher_?"

"Yes, we do." The shopkeeper answered her.

"That's great!"

"Would you like a copy?" He asked her.

"Nah, I was just curious." Emerald responded.

"Ooh! How about _Violet's Garden_ in paperback?" She asked the man.

Mercury spoke up from the back of the room. "He's got it. Hardback, too."

"Ooh, nice…"

Mercury frowned. "Eegh, no pictures… You got any comics? _X-Ray and Vav_?"

"Check the back." The shopkeeper answered him.

Emerald spoke up again. "Oh! I know! How about… _Crusade on Masyaf_?"

The shopkeeper became tense, his jaw clicking hesitantly. "Ummm… I'm sorry, b-but I don't think we have that one."

"Oh, I'm sorry. What was this place called again?" Emerald asked him, tapping her palm on the counter.

"Tukson's Book Trade." He answered.

"And… you're Tukson?" She asked again.

"Yes." Tukson answered.

"So, you came up with the catchphrase?" Emerald asked, pointing a finger at him.

"Yes."

"And what was it again?" Mercury asked Tukson.

Tukson sighed. "Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun."

"Except _Crusade on Masyaf._ " Mercury spoke from the corner.

"It's just a catchphrase."

"It's false advertising!" Mercury growled.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Tukson." Emerald said to him, maroon eyes glinting sinisterly.

"We hear you're planning on leaving. Moving all the way to Vacuo. I'm sure your brothers in the White Fang would be _very_ unhappy to hear you're moving so far away..." Emerald continued with a dark voice.

"…and so are we." Mercury turned the lights down and closed the blinds, darkening the room.

In the corner, behind a bookshelf however, the pair failed to notice one more person in the room with them. She wore a dark brown and light blue robe with red highlights, topped with a beautifully designed hood. On her shoulders were pauldrons and she carried a large, but slim sword on her back. At her waist, she carried a long rope, tied to a deadly sharp blade, and her pale complexion was complemented by short, dark hair that just barely reached her neck.

As the lights turned off, she looked up, at first confused, then silently peeked over a shelf to see the two intruders. She glared and raised her hood over her face, her other hand reaching for her rope dart.

"You know who we are, don't you?" Emerald asked him.

"Y-yes." Tukson answered her.

"And you know why we're here?" Emerald asked him again with a smile.

"Yes."

"So, Tukson… are you gonna fight back?"

"YES!" Tukson growled.

He flicked his wrist, catlike claws drawing from his fingers. He jumped atop the counter and leapt forth, swiping at Emerald, only for her to vanish before his eyes, discovering he was falling towards Mercury.

Mercury sneered and raised his foot, but before he could fire into the faunus's face, a sharp blade was pierced into his metal foot.

Jun gave the rope dart a sharp yank, throwing Mercury off of his feet and into a bookshelf. She then ran up to him and raised a foot to kick him, a small blade protruding from her boot, ready to stab him in his side.

But instead of kicking him, Shao Jun planted that foot into the ground and grabbed her jian blade from her back, swinging behind her to parry a sneak attack from Emerald. She then delivered a swift side-kick with her footblade, causing Emerald to reel back in pain, allowing Jun to knock her out by slamming her blade's hilt into her forehead.

She raised the blade to finish her, but Mercury flipped himself back up and kicked the Assassin off-balance. He then stomped a boot on her skull, ready to blow her brains out with a gunshot, but Jun flipped backwards, kicking Mercury in the nether regions, causing him to howl in agony and writhe on the floor, thanking Oum he still maintained his aura.

Jun then grabbed Tukson and threw down a smoke bomb, letting the two of them escape. As Emerald came to, she saw the two of them alone in the shop, with Mercury hugging his crotch while groaning loudly.

"Damn!" She cursed loudly. How was she going to explain this to Cinder?

 **On a random rooftop outside…**

Tukson came to his senses to realize he was on the top of a building, with the young woman who saved him studying his features, checking if he was awake. He saw the unique patterns on her attire as well as her pale complexion and almond-shaped eyes, telling him she must have come from Anima.

Noticing the weapon on her back as well as her age, he guessed she was a combat student, most likely from Haven.

"T-thanks for that…" Tukson said to his savior, who merely smiled and bowed in return. She then walked over the ledge, stretched out her arms and leapt off.

"… Now, how the hell do I get down from here?"

 **Cafeteria, Beacon**

Blake gazed at the drawings and writings on her diary. Each sketch was drawn beautifully on the lined paper. She always remembered to write before bed, but she always came back to the same set of pages.

The pages that told of the day she left. The day she left _him_. Granted, she was happy she made the right choice, but leaving an old friend and mentor behind was something else. Now the next time they would meet, he would not show mercy to h-

"Whaaaatcha doin'?" Yang sang over Blake's shoulder with a singsong voice.

Connor looked over her shoulder. "I believe that would be her dia-"

Eyes wide, Blake quickly smacked him across the face before he could finish the sentence, stammering over her words. "J-j-just overlooking notes from class."

"Don't buy it, Belladonna. No pun intended." Ezio joked, earning a grin from Yang and the loud bang of Altaïr smacking his forehead on the table.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to bring your flask to school?" Weiss asked Edward, who was clutching a small bottle, and the strong smell wafting off of the flask made it pretty clear what exactly was in it.

"Oh course, ya can never be too sure." Edward slurred, taking another swig, much to the skepticism of the seven other occupants of their lunch table.

"Can I try some?" Yang asked the pirate.

"Sure, sure! Knock yourself out! I know I would if I had another sip." He joked, earning a giggle from Yang and Ezio.

She felt the liquid touch her lips, and after a gulp, she quickly set the container down, coughing violently.

"What on Remnant is wrong with you?!" She yelled at Edward, surprised as to how strong the drink was.

"What're ya talking about? I've seen Rackham himself do stronger!" He said with a loud cackle.

At the table across from theirs, Teams JNPR and JAAE were seated, with Jacob tossing food into Yang's mouth.

Just then, Ruby plopped down a large, white binder on the desk and cleared her throat. "Ahem. Sisters! Friends! … Weiss."

"Hey!"

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream…" She began.

"Oh, this oughta be good." Yang commented, catching a cherry with her mouth.

"… a dream that one day, the four of us would come together as a team and have the most fun anyone has ever had… EVER!" She continued.

"May we tag along then, _piccola rosa_?" Ezio asked her jokingly.

"Of course! 'Cause what're friends for, am I right?" She answered him happily.

"Did you steal my binder?!" Weiss asked Ruby.

"I am not a crook."

"What were we talking about again?" Blake asked, confused.

"I'm talking about kicking off our semester with a bang!" She responded excitedly.

"Well, I always kick off my semesters with a _Yang_!" Her sister joked, much to the disgust of the seven others at the table.

"Eh? Guys?..." She asked, oblivious to her own horrendous attempt at comedy.

"Boo! Get off the stage!" She heard Jacob yell as he threw a tomato at her face.

"Look guys, it's been a great couple of weeks, but between more exchange students arriving and the Tournament coming up, our next semester's gonna be awesome! But our classes start back up tomorrow, which is why your generous leader has taken the time to schedule a wonderful series of events for us today!" Ruby giddily proclaimed with a grin.

"I don't know whether to feel proud or scared for what you have in store." Weiss stated.

Yang picked up an apple and threw it back to the other table, only for Jacob to skewer it on his hidden blade, and take a bite while giving her a shit-eating grin, causing her to frown at him.

"I think I'll just sit this one out." Altaïr said blankly.

Edward, however wrapped his arm around him with a belch. "Ooohhh, come oooon! Lighten up a little, will ya?"

"Get off me, you drunk." Altaïr said in a monotone voice.

"They invited us, and don't ya know it's rude to turn down such an offer? Here's t-" Edward didn't finish, as a lone orange flew through the air and knocked him in the wrist, hitting the flask of alcohol out of Edward's hand and causing it to spill on the floor.

Edward didn't say a word, and neither did his team or Team RWBY. They just stared at the bottle, spilling its contents on the floor. Connor reached to grab Edward before he could do anything stupid, but it was useless as Edward turned to Team JNPR and JAAE with rage in his eyes.

Nora was not so successfully hiding behind Ren, who was facepalming at his friend's blunder.

"ALRIGHT, YOU LITTLE SHI-"

 **Outside…**

"…So then all of a sudden this other gang shows up and we were fighting side-by-side, and she was super fast and I threw a banana at a guy, which sounds gross but it was awesome!" Sun excitedly told his two friends.

The first was a young man in a red jacket. He wore a white shirt underneath with a tie and jeans. On his handsome face, he wore goggles on his forehead, barely covered by his brilliant blue hair.

The other was a young dark-skinned woman. She wore a tri-cone hat over her braided hair. Her white top extended into frills ending at her wrist and was covered by a sleeveless overcoat, tailing to the back of her knees. Covering her collarbones and shoulders were leather pauldrons and at her waist, she wore a red sash under a small belt adorned with a familiar symbol. Protecting her forearms were metal vambraces, and at her belt were a revolver and a modified sugarcane machete, a bit more than a foot long. The plume of feathers visible from behind her cheeks signified her faunus heritage.

"Niiice!" Neptune commented.

"Right, and the best part is; she's a faunus! But then again, there's that big guy that's always with her…."

Sun's eyes widened and blurted out, "But that's a secret, okay?!"

"Got it, man." Neptune assured his partner.

"Not a 'I'm gonna go tell Scarlet and Sage or Jun, Nik and Henry the moment Sun turns his back' secret! This one's a _secret_ secret!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Chill out, dude! I got it. I _got_ it!" Neptune reassured him.

"My lips are sealed." Aveline said to Sun.

"Oh, they'd better be. I just don't wanna screw this up, you know!"

"Oh what, aren't I enough faunus for you?" Aveline joked.

"What? No! Nothing like that! It's just… I can't help but feel different about her. No offence, Aveline."

"But then… do you guys think I'm out of my league here? The people here are the coolest! No offence to either of you." Sun insisted.

"None taken." Both Neptune and Aveline said.

"Okay, so they're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them! So… be cool! You'll be cool… right?"

"Dude." Neptune said bluntly.

Sun looked at him, and remembered he was witnessing Haven's epitome of "cool".

"Point made. Let's go!" Aveline said, kicking open the door.

But as they entered the room, none of them were prepared for what was going on inside. The place was an utter mess, with everyone clearing out of the room as quickly as they could. Food was everywhere, and piles of tables were stacked up on either side of the room.

On one side were Teams RWBY and JNPR, with Nora cackling loudly from the top. Opposite them were Teams ACEE and JAAE, with the symbol of the Assassins and the Rooks painted in ketchup all over the tables, and Jacob holding up a handkerchief.

"THIS BOROUGH IS OURS FOR THE TAKING!" Jacob proclaimed loudly, tossing the cloth down.

"QUEEN NORA WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS NONSENSE!" Nora announced even louder.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! IT WILL BE DELICIOUS!" Ruby screamed, raising her fist and leading the charge across the battlefield that was once the cafeteria.

"PULL 'EM DOWN TO HELL, LADS!" Edward yelled at his brothers (and sister), causing them to charge as well.

"Ready to fire, captain!" Adéwalé yelled at Edward, who sneered and raised his baguette.

"FIRE!" He signaled his team, causing them to fling melons at their foes, stunning Blake and knocking Jaune against the floor.

Noticing the incoming barrage of fruit, Ruby called to her sister and Nora. "Yang! Turkey! Nora! Up!"

Yang ran up ahead, slipping her fists into two turkeys, slamming them together like her gauntlets. She then punched the incoming food, causing each melon to explode into pink mist.

Nora jumped off of her perch and gripped a metal bar on the wall, snapping it loose. She then speared an incoming melon onto the bar, and began wielding it like her hammer, smacking away any incoming fire.

Edward growled and sprinted forward alongside Ezio, to whom he tossed a baguette to wield like his sword.

Blake sprinted forth alongside Yang, blowing apart any melons coming their way, and then Yang flung her turkeys at the enemy, hitting Evie in the face, disorienting her.

Blake attempted to stab her baguettes down on Edward, but he jumped back and dodged the blow. Blake looked up and dashed towards him, her weapons drawn back, ready to strike, with Edward doing the same. Stale bread collided, with both trying to push harder against the other, but Edward kicked Blake in the leg, sending her down on her knees, and tried to stab down on her, only for Blake to flip backwards, dodging his attack.

Edward jumped up and spun himself around with a flip, swinging his bread so that it barely missed her torso. Blake jumped up with a shadow clone and tried to hit Edward by throwing her bread at him, but he dodged and dashed forth, nailing Blake by the abdomen, sending her flying before bringing out a soda bottle, shaking it so hard that the cap flew off with a crack.

The cap hit Yang straight in the head, bringing her down on her back instantly. Ren ran forward with Ruby, who was surfing on a lunch tray. Ezio threw his baguette at her, only for her to block with the tray, reflecting the bread back down on him, knocking him down on his knees. Ruby then continued to surf on the tray, speeding towards Altaïr, but he blocked her attack and pushed her off of his arms, spinning to fling nachos at her like throwing knives. Ruby was hit in the face, chest and leg, knocking her back.

Adé and Arno ran forth towards the advancing Nora and Jaune, only for Weiss to appear, spraying ketchup all over the floor, causing the Assassins to slip and crash into the tables. Arno got up, however and retrieved a long pole, spearing it on a durian, crafting a Morningstar.

Nora ran for Arno, clashing their heavy weapons. Arno swung for her legs, trying to sweep her off of her feet, but she jumped up and kicked him across the cheek, staggering the Frenchman. She then charged, bringing her weapon forward for an upwards swing, but he parried the strike, headbutted her and jabbed Nora in the forehead with the butt of his weapon, stunning her. Arno finally raised his weapon and smashed the fruit against her skull, knocking Nora out for good.

"They've taken out Queen Nora!" Jaune exclaimed in horror.

"No… that means…" Ruby gasped with dread.

Jacob grinned and proclaimed. "YOUR LEADER IS DONE FOR! JOIN US OR DIE!"

Naturally, Team JNPR stepped over to the Assassin's side, much to the horror of Team RWBY.

"C'mon!" Weiss yelled, grabbing a swordfish and zipping towards Ren and Connor. Connor grabbed a carrot and a rather large lollipop, wielding the two like his tomahawk and dagger.

Weiss and Connor clashed, with Weiss trying to parry Connor's aggressive strikes. Connor swung the sweet left and brought up his right arm, trying to slash at her with the vegetable, but Weiss raised the fish and blocked the hit, then trying to stab forward at the faunus. Connor side-stepped the attack and grabbed the fish by the bill, pulling her close enough for a speeding knee to the torso, stunning Weiss and leaving Jacob open to uppercut her with some fisticuffs crafted from a drumstick bone and licorice.

The punch sent Weiss flying up and crashing against one of the support pillars in the room, cracking the structure and knocking her out cold. Ruby caught her before she hit the ground and attempted to reach her friend.

"Weiss? Weiss! Don't leave me! NOOOOOOOOO!" Ruby mourned her partner's "death".

Yang ran forward, slipping on two more turkeys with Evie running to get to her, grabbing a scallion and a baguette. Yang gave a mighty roar and raised her fist, Evie doing the same, raising both of her weapons. Yang raised her leg and attempted to kick Evie, only for her foot to be held in place by Evie, who crossed her weapons to block the hit.

Yang threw a right hook at her, which Evie dodged by ducking under, stabbing backwards at her neck with the scallion, and spinning backwards to strike her in the head with a baguette. Yang was stunned, but then thrust her elbow back, socking Evie in the nose, pounded down on her head and delivered a powerful uppercut to her chin, knocking the Assassin out cold.

Adéwalé ran ahead and brought down a large baguette onto the blonde, which she parried by crossing her fists above her head and pushing up, jarring the man. Yang jabbed left, right and spun with a roundhouse kick, hitting Adé on the side of the face, stunning him. Yang then punched, hooked and jabbed in a combination so fast that he could not keep up, and Yang ended him by slamming her fist into his chest so hard, he flew all the way across the cafeteria, unconscious.

She then ran for Jacob, raising a fist and him readying his own, but Jacob connected his knuckles to her chin with an aura-infused strike so strong, she flew straight up like a rocket, crashing through the roof, raining debris down on the remainder of Team RWBY.

Blake flipped back to avoid falling rubble and picked up a string of sausages, cracking them like a whip. Blake hit Ren, crashing him into a vending machine, causing some soda cans to fall out. Ezio grabbed some and tossed them at Blake, each can exploding like a grenade.

Pyrrha noticed this and summoned her Semblance. As her hand slammed on the ground, all of the soda cans on the floor rose and moved to Pyrrha's whim. She pointed her hand, the cans following to explode under Blake, sending her flying upwards.

Pyrrha then raised her arms and concentrated, and every can rushed up to the same target, pounding into Blake with a merciless explosive barrage. Blake then fell, unable to continue, leaving Ruby alone.

She glared at her enemy and knelt down for a running start, and summoned her aura to manifest her Semblance. With a loud scream, Ruby burst forward with unbelievable speed, rose petals trailing behind the red blur that was she. With her incredible speed, the draft created from the sprint carried with it tons of spilt food and cans and bottles. Teams ACEE, JNPR and JAAE only looked on in fear as Ruby spun into a red missile, shooting straight towards them, with a whirlwind of food behind her. Unable to escape, everyone was caught in the wind, sent flying towards the wall.

Ruby skidded to a stop just in front of a wall, which had a crater blown into it from the insane speed, and Ruby jumped up, pinning Altaïr, Ezio, Connor, Edward, Arno, Jacob, Jaune and Pyrrha onto the wall, who could only watch in horror as the food picked up from the wind splattered all over them, hammering endless amounts of fruits, plates, meat, vegetables and whatever was spilled on the floor.

Ruby landed gracefully, as her enemies were covered in food and grime, and could do nothing but fall, too weak and tired to do anything.

"I love these guys!" Sun grinned with glee, but Neptune and Aveline were covered in food, not exactly catching his drift.

The doors then slammed open, revealing Glynda Goodwitch, and she did _not_ look happy. She raised her riding crop, and the ruined tables and debris moved to her will, reassembling the cafeteria piece by piece, almost as if rewinding time, everything moving back into place as it was before and as if nothing had changed.

"Children, please do not… play with your food." She said to them with a glare.

The students just smiled awkwardly before Yang crashed back down to Remnant, smashing apart a chair as she landed.

Glynda frowned and was about to step forward, before a hand stopped her.

"Let it go." Ozpin told her calmly.

Glynda calmed down and sighed. "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

"And they will be, but now they're still children. So why not let them play the part? After all… it isn't a role they'll have forever." Ozpin told her as he turned to exit the room.

 **Some warehouse, the Docks**

Mercury and Emerald walked through the building, with White Fang hauling crates full of Dust off of Bullheads. They continued to walk until they happened upon Roman Torchwick and Jack the Ripper. Roman was hunched over a map while tapping his cane anxiously, while Jack was twirling his knives in his hand, observing the steel blades closely.

Jack turned to notice them and sneered under his mask. "Oh, look! She sent the kids again!"

"Where've you been? Hope you had… _fun._ " He snarled.

Emerald shuddered at the man's words. Normally, she would have dismissed this as a suggestive comment, but considering who she was talking to, she knew what he was really asking of her.

Jack stopped twirling his knife to hold it firmly, hitching his breath as he slowly raised his head to make eye contact with the green-haired girl. "You're… clean. What happened?"

Emerald flinched. How could he have known about their failure?!

Roman turned to look at them. "Well, maybe if you had let me take care of that, then he wouldn't be alive!"

"If it were up to me, I'd take you and your street rat friend here and I'd-"

"Or do what, Roman?" A voice called above them.

Cinder stepped from the shadows, using a service lift to walk up to them. She walked in an elegant manner, her dress flowing with her strides and her eyes burning with a golden flame.

"Eheheh… I-I uhhh…wouldn't kill them?" Roman nervously answered her.

"I thought I made it clear that I wanted you to eliminate the would-be runaway." Cinder sternly said to Roman.

"I was going to!" Roman insisted, until Emerald interrupted.

"He was going to escape to Vacuo. Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat!"

"I thought he was some sort of cat, actually." Mercury joked.

"What? Like a puma?" Emerald asked.

"Yeah, that's it!"

"Quiet!" Cinder firmly said in a loud voice, getting the attention of the two.

"Did I not specifically instruct you to keep your hands clean while in Vale?"

Jack spoke up from the corner. "Oh, they're clean alright. I think I would've done a better job myself."

Cinder turned back to Emerald with a deadly glare. "Care to explain, Emerald?"

Emerald sighed. "We encountered an… unexpected complication. Someone else was in the shop, and whoever she was, she was good."

Cinder narrowed her eyes. "Continue…"

"She wore a hood, used retractable blades and smoke bombs." Emerald explained.

Cinder turned and folded her arms, eyes blinking in deep thought. "So… now we risk opposition from the Assassins. No matter. They cannot stop us at the rate we're at now."

"And you." Cinder turned to Roman, who jerked back in surprise.

"Why was this not done sooner?"

Roman quirked a brow at her in annoyance. "Eh?" Roman gestured to the crate of Dust beside him.

"Eehh?!" Roman pointed to the pile on his left.

"EEEEGGHH?!" Roman gestured to the mass of cargo and Dust containers around the warehouse.

"Sorry if I've been a little busy stealing every speck of Dust in the kingdom!" Roman yelled in frustration.

"You're a real inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask." Mercury sarcastically said.

"Look around, kid. I've got this town running scared! Police camping out in every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we're all sitting pretty in an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with!" Roman responded.

"Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually help me get old man Starrick off of my case and help my next string of robberies run a little smoother! My boys aren't fancy robots like Altas has. They get tired. They ask questions. They wonder if their boss is gonna get them paid with this gig!"

Cinder smirked and walked over to Roman, grasping his cheek lightly. "Oh Roman, have a little faith. You'll know what you'll need when you need to know it."

"Besides, we're done with Dust."

"What do you mean?" Roman asked her.

"We're moving out. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you the details and the coordinates tonight." Cinder ordered as she turned to walk away.

"Coordinates?" Roman asked skeptically.

"We're proceeding to Phase 2. This is gonna be fun." Jack said as he got up to leave.

Roman got out his lighter to smoke, but before he knew it, his lighter had slipped from his fingers and was pinned against the wall by a serrated knife. He looked behind him to see Jack twirling two more blades in his hands.

"Keep it. You'll be needing it." Jack said before he turned to leave with the others.

 **Coming up next: Meet Team ASHN.**

 **Hello! School's finally out, and I have a couple months off! I just finished the story in Syndicate and Brotherhood, and now I'm getting started in Unity (yes, I'm playing Unity, sue me.). Volume 2's gonna be awesome, and I hope you like this story!**

 **The next Episodes: Yeah, that'd be pretty cool, I'd imagine Adé fell in with the assassins after running from the Fang.**

 **EzioisPIRATE: Desmond probably won't be in this story. Sorry.**

 **CHEEKI BREEKI: It's actually an interesting story! See, it begins with (this section has been removed due to spoilers)**

 **Guest: Sure, I get it. I'm not the most talented or creative of writers. My main idea for my story was to have the main story, but with an extra spin. But I get it. But if you don't like my story, then go ahead and check out the others. I know for a fact that better AC/RWBY stories exist, and I hope you check them out.**

 **JackTheRipper01: Assassin symbol.**

 **Guest: True. I promise I won't write off Roth. He was an awesome character in the game and I'm curious to see what I can do with him!**

 **RemaGeek: Here's an idea. How about Arno has a sonar ability so he can detect the layout of his environment through heightened hearing enhanced by Eagle Vision, and he can also scan his surroundings for foreign entities. He can also weaponize this ability with a sonic wave that is unleashed when he slams his weapon into the ground.**

 **Emiliano733: Ah, thanks mate! So… are you asking me to write Ruby asking Connor to the dance?**

 **Jack905: Yes, he has.**

 **: Thanks!**


	16. Ash and Cinders

**Headmaster's Office, Beacon Tower**

High above in his office that touched the clouds, Ozpin gazed down the window at the docking bays of the massive school. Military-grade ships were docking at Beacon, and Ozpin only hardened his expression at the sight of the massive vehicles.

Glynda scoffed at the sight. "Ironwood certainly loves to bring his work wherever he travels."

"Running an academy as well as Remnant's most advanced military power makes him a busy man, but yes. Those are a bit of an eyesore." Ozpin agreed with her.

A screen on Ozpin's desk began to blink, signifying that a visitor was coming up. He pressed a button, letting the visitor in, revealing a tall man. He was dressed in white pants and a white military coat. Under, he wore a gray vest with a red tie. Above his right eyebrow was a metal plate, under his graying black hair.

"Ozpin!" Ironwood greeted the old man.

"Hello, general." Ozpin politely returned his gesture.

"Please, drop the formalities. It's been too long!" Ironwood kindly held out his hand for him to shake, before turning to the side to greet the woman in the room.

"And Glynda! It's certainly been too long since we last met!"

"Oh, James! I'll be outside." Glynda sarcastically said before leaving.

"Well she hasn't changed a bit." Ironwood commented.

Ozpin turned to his clockwork-designed desk, pouring some tea into a couple of mugs. "So, James, what in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas? Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival."

Ozpin handed Ironwood a mug, which he took with his gloved hand, before pulling out a flask from his coat and pouring its contents inside. "Well, you know how much I love Vale this time of year. Besides, with you hosting, I thought this would be a good opportunity for us to catch up.

Ozpin smiled and returned to his chair, pouring a drink for himself. "Well, I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends. However, the small fleet outside my window has me and the students quite concerned."

"Well, concern is what brought them here." Ironwood replied.

"I can understand travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult-" Ozpin continued, before the general cut him off.

"Oz… you and I both know why I brought those men."

Ozpin sipped from his mug and sighed. "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are likely to give a wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true, and if Shay comes back now of all times-"

"If what Qrow said is true, and if Shay has returned, we will handle it tactfully. Shay would not be one to act senselessly even if he might hold a grudge, and besides, it's the Vytal Festival; a time to celebrate unity and peace. So, I suggest you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the planet." Ozpin explained.

"I'm just trying to be cautious." Ironwood insisted.

"As am I. Which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can. I've seen Haytham's work. He's a remarkable success of your mentorship, James." Ozpin said.

"Thank you, Ozpin. But… ask yourself this; Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?" Ironwood asked him before leaving.

Ozpin stared at him blankly with a solemn expression. "I hope they never have to. We both knew how that worked out at Mountain Glenn."

 **Library, Beacon…**

"Hmmm… Edward Kenway, prepare your kingdom for battle!" Jacob proclaimed.

"You won't know what's comin' to ya, mate!" Edward challenged him back.

"I deploy… the Altesian Air Fleet!" Jacob yelled, raised his card high.

"You wouldn't!" Edward gasped.

"Looks like I get to fly over your Ursai and attack your walls directly!"

"You monster!" Edward cried.

"And since Atlas is part of Mantle, my repair time only lasts one turn!" Jacob said confidently, until he heard Edward cackling to himself.

"Nice try… but you've just activated my trap card!" Edward yelled, holding out a card.

"WHAAAAAT?!"

"Giant Nevermore! If I roll a seven or higher, Fatal Feathers will tear your pathetic ships to shreds!" Edward slammed his fist on the table.

"But if your roll a six or lower, the Nevermore will turn on your own forces!" Jacob pointed his finger in his scruffy face in an as-a-matter-of-factly manner.

"I'm taking all bets, boy!" Edward confidently proclaimed, before rolling the die, landing a perfect twelve.

"HA! Ahahahahahaaaa!" Edward cackled wickedly.

"NOOOO! MY FEARLESS SOLDIERS…." Jacob grieved for his poor lost comrades.

"Eh, most of them were probably androids to begin with." Edward pointed out.

"Goodbye, my friends. You will be avenged!"

"Not until I draw my rewards, which are DOUBLED this round, thanks to the Mistral trade route! Oh, wait; make that TRIPLE thanks to Pirates of Nassau! I'll be taking that fleet of yours!" Edward laughed cruelly, much to Jacob's misery.

"HAVE YOU NO HEART, VILLAIN?!"

As Edward, Jacob, Evie and Weiss played Ruby's board game, the rest of the gang were around the building. Ezio was playing on his scroll with Adéwalé, and Altaïr was writing in his journal, Nora was fast asleep, with Ren reading a book beside her. Ruby was eagerly flipping through a weapons magazine, with a large stack of books on the table, and Arno was making paper planes out of his homework.

Blake was picking out a book from Ruby's pile, with Connor curiously looking over her shoulder. Yang was peering over Edward's shoulder and watched as he laughed in victory over poor Jacob. Jaune was reading an "X-Ray and Vav" comic, until Pyrrha took it away from him and shoved a textbook in his hands… before flipping the pages of the comic herself.

"Alright, Evie! You're up!" Edward called out to the young woman.

"I… how do you play this again?" She asked the pirate in confusion.

"It's quite simple! You're playing as Vacuo, which means all Vacuo based cards come with a bonus!"

"Well, that sounds stupid." Evie blankly said.

"See… you've got Sandstorm, Mohawk Beast Master, and Resourceful Raider? (You lucky bastard.) Now you can take brother dearest's discarded air fleet-"

"Whyyyyy…" Jacob cried as he buried his face into the table.

"-and put it in your hand! And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance boost in natural hazards, you can use Sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom!" Edward explained.

"But remember that a Kenway never forgets the day an enemy was made…" Edward threatened the elder Frye before slinking back behind his deck.

"And that means…"

"You're only three moves away from conquering Remnant!" Jacob said between his sobs.

Evie's eyes widened and began cackling in a Weiss-like manner. "AHAHAHA! YES, FEAR THE ALMIGHTY POWER OF MY FORCES! WATCH AS THEY PILLAGE YOUR HOMES AND TAKE YOUR CHILDREN FROM YOUR VERY A-"

"Trap card. Apple of Eden." Edward held up a card.

"Wait, wha-"

"Your armies belong to me now." Edward blankly said as he rearranged the pieces on the board.

"Why is the world so cruel?!" Evie sobbed as she mourned her fallen.

"Stay strong, dear sister! I will pull through with you no matter how agonizing it will be!"

"Apple of Eden?" Weiss asked.

Blake perked up. "I've read about it in some old books. It's just a story, but it supposedly has power over free will."

"Okay, Weiss, you're up!"

"Oh! Uhhh… What am I doing again?" Weiss stuttered, not exactly processing what was going on around her.

"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the kingdoms of Remnant!" Edward explained.

"Hey, can I play?" Jaune asked.

"Sorry, mate! Four kingdoms only!" Edward told him.

"Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical and strategic skill that I doubt you possess." Weiss continued.

"Said she who attacked her own naval fleet." Jacob commented, earning a whine from Weiss.

"Bring it on, Ice Queen! I've been told that I'm a natural born leader!" Jaune said confidently.

"By whom, your mother?" Weiss asked sarcastically.

"A-and Pyrrha! And Ruby! … and Altaïr…" Jaune awkwardly answered her.

"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vale!" Weiss said, bringing her cards closer to her chest.

"C'mon! You've trusted me with way more important stuff! I mean, you told us that Blake is secretly a fa-" Jaune began.

Adé saw where he was treading and acting quickly, he flicked a sleep dart into his neck, and before he could finish his sentence, he was already mumbling incoherently before his knees gave way and he was snoring on the floor. But this didn't stop Blake from directing a deadly glare at the group.

Arno got up and pulled Jaune away by his legs, dragging his body across the floor. "Right, that."

"'Sup, losers?"

The gang turned around to see Sun, Neptune, Aveline and another man. The fourth man was wearing a white and gold robe and had dark skin. Under his belt was a purple cloth and a steel kukri embroidered in gold details.

"Hey, Sun!" Ruby greeted the man.

"Everyone. Ice Queen." Sun greeted them all, smirking mischievously at the last part.

"Why does everybody keep calling me that?!"

"I never got to introduce you to some friends of mine!" Sun said.

"Aren't libraries for reading?" Henry asked his friend.

"THANK YOU!" Ren and Evie called out.

"Don't be a nerd." Aveline said, jabbing Henry with her elbow.

"Utututut… Intellectual." Neptune said to her, raising his finger in objection.

"I'm Neptune. Nice to meet you all." The blue-haired boy introduced himself.

"Aveline de Grandpré."

"Jayadeep. But just call me Henry."

"So Neptune… where are you from?" Weiss curiously asked him.

"Haven. I'm in Sun's team." Neptune answered her.

"And you two with them?" Evie asked Henry.

"Oh, we have our own team. I believe they're checking out the city." Aveline answered for her.

"By the way, Snow Angel… I don't believe I've caught your name…" Neptune walked up to Weiss with a slightly huskier tone of voice.

Weiss blushed and introduced herself. "I-I'm Weiss."

"Pleasure." Neptune smiled at her, but turned to the tables to see Ezio giving him a death glare with narrowed eyes, with his hidden blade glinting in the light, causing him to shudder in place.

 **Headmaster's Office, Beacon, several months ago…**

"Thank you for taking the time to meet me here, Altaïr." Ozpin greeted the young man as he sat down.

"The pleasure is mine. Now, what did you want to discuss with me?" Altaïr asked him with a monotone voice.

Ozpin sighed. "As you know, in order to enroll in my academy, students must first pass through a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years training at one of the many combat schools. And yet, you are one of the few who did not, and you passed the exam with flying colors, and the same can be said for your entire team."

Altaïr flicked open his hidden blade in response. "Professor, you and I both know why I did not."

"As I recall, the Assassins have three Tenants, one being; never compromise the Brotherhood? Why reveal yourself to me of all people?" Ozpin asked him.

Altaïr didn't change his expression. "You know of the Assassin's affairs and have worked with our brothers before. This is nothing new."

Ozpin blinked and asked him blankly, "What business do the Assassins have in my school?"

Altaïr glanced up to meet his eye. "Our enemies are growing stronger, and it is only a matter of time before they strike the killing blow. Me and my brothers were tasked to root out these infiltrators and eliminate them, but at the same time, we are still young and have to learn more."

"We have the situation covered, Altaïr. You and your Brotherhood have nothing to worry for." Ozpin stated, sipping from his mug.

"Is that why you have a comatose Maiden hidden under the school grounds? Why the Apple is being stored right next to her?" Altaïr blankly asked him.

Ozpin nearly choked on his drink when he heard Altaïr's words. How could he know so much?

"The Assassins have eyes everywhere, Professor. We work in the shadows, so we can fight back the darkness that threatens our world. Our enemies are powerful, but so are we. How do you think we have survived this long?" Altaïr sinisterly told him.

"Salem will come for the Apple and the rest of the Pieces. You know what will happen once she has them all." Altaïr said to the old man with a grave tone.

"That is why we built the school in the first place. We entrust you students with Remnant's safety, and it begins the moment you step on the campus grounds. You all are powerful fighters, growing stronger each passing day, and there are no better people with whom I can trust with the safety of the Apple." Ozpin said to the Assassin.

"Is this your plan? To place children on the front lines of battle against _your_ enemies? To make them fight your battles? Or have you not learned from Mountain Glenn? From Shay Cormac?" Altaïr asked him, pounding his fist on the table from the tension.

Ozpin tensed at the recollection of that day, but calmed his breathing to speak. "No. I will not let something like this happen again. We all learn from our mistakes, Altaïr. You of all men should know this. No matter how grave they are or how they affect our allies, we grow stronger as we learn lessons so we do not repeat those mistakes a second time. I am a huntsman, and I have made it my sworn duty to protect this planet and all who live in it."

Altaïr got up from his seat and turned to leave, but said one last thing before he exited the room. "You are right, but ask yourself this; how many innocents suffer before you finally learn? Good night, Professor."

 **Team ACEE's Dorm**

"YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME, PRETTY BOY!" Edward yelled as he was being restrained by Connor.

"Why is he so mad again?" Altaïr asked Ezio.

"Oh, Neptune beat him." Ezio answered.

"Ah."

"Wait…" Ezio stopped and raised his hand for silence.

As the room fell silent, his ears caught a conversation taking place in Team RWBY's dorm next to them. He pressed his ear against their door and honed his senses, and soon he was able to listen in as if he was in the room himself.

"Stop." Weiss said to Blake, who was reaching for the door.

"Lately, you've been quiet, anti-social and moody."

"Uhh… have you met Blake?" Yang joked.

"W-which I get is kinda "your thing", but you've been doing it more than usual, which quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to me, to all of us that you'd let us know if something was wrong! SO, BLAKE BELLADONNA…"

"…WHAT! IS! WRONG?!" Weiss dramatically asked her, finding herself balancing on top of a chair while pointing down at her, only to compose herself and wait for her answer.

"I just… don't understand why everyone can be so calm!" Blake said to her teammates.

"You still thinking about Torchwick?" Ruby asked her.

"Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big's coming, I just know it, but nobody's doing anything about it!"

"Hey, Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it." Yang attempted to reassure Blake.

"Well, I'm not! They don't know the White Fang like I do!" Blake insisted.

Ruby exchanged looks between Weiss and Yang for guidance, and Weiss spoke up. "Okay, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells…"

"Ne'er-do wha-?"

"…but let me once again be the voice of reason. We're students! We're not ready to go out and handle this sort of situation."

"Yeah, but-" Ruby began, but was interrupted by the heiress.

"We're not ready!

"And we may never be ready! Our enemies aren't going to sit around, waiting for graduation day! They're out there somewhere planning their next move and none of us may know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!" Blake yelled at her team.

Ruby then broke the silence. "Okay! All in favor of being the youngest huntresses to single-handedly bring down the corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale… say aye?"

"YES! I love it when you're feisty…" Yang shouted out enthusiastically.

"Well, I suppose it could be fun." Weiss said.

But then, they heard knocking on their door, causing each girl to turn towards the door. Ruby went to open it, revealing Ezio, raising his hand. "Aye. We're in."

Ruby smiled and was about to burst in joy, but stopped herself. "Sorry, Ezio. We don't want to get our friends involved!"

Edward popped up from behind his teammate and asked her, "Don't you know it's rude not to invite your friends to a party?"

"You know what they say, strength in numbers." Connor continued.

"Alright! We're in this together!" Blake agreed.

"Let's hatch a plan! Ooooh nooo…. I left my board game in the library!" Ruby gasped, dashing out of the room.

"We're doomed." Ezio joked.

"I'll be right bac- Dagh!" Ruby called back, before crashing into someone, falling down on the floor.

"Sorry…" Ruby apologized.

"It's fine. Just… watch where you're going." Emerald said back to her, extending a hand for Ruby.

"Thanks! I'm Ruby! Are you guys… new?" Ruby greeted them.

"Visiting from Haven, actually." Cinder said, dressed in a Haven uniform like her subordinates.

Ruby eyed the woman curiously before speaking. "Oooooh! You're here for the Festival! Oh! But exchange students have their own dormitory!"

"Oh, I guess we got turned around," Mercury said.

Ruby giggled. "Ah, don't worry. Happens all the time! Uh, your building is just… east of here!"

"Thanks. Maybe we'll se you around." Cinder said as she turned to leave with her comrades.

"Yeah, maybe! Oh! And err… welcome to Beacon!"

 **Up next: Buongiorno, Leonardo!**

 **Hello! Sorry for the long wait! This chapter wasn't as long as most, and I really love the support and ideas I've been getting from you all! But you all know what comes next. I need TEAM ATTACKS. Until then, I hope you enjoy!**

 **Also: THE VOLUME 4 SOUNDRACK IS OUT! Bad Luck Charm, This Life is Mine, Like Morning Follows Night, Let's Just Live, Bmblb, all of it! Check it out sometime! Personally, I think this might be the best music I've heard in RWBY!**

 **Jerarudo Torinidado: Nikolai Orelov. He was a Russian Assassin from Rasputin's time. He's also Daniel Cross's great-grandfather.**

 **Guest: Yeah, I don't exactly know how to put in Bayek yet. Maybe he was around for the Great War or something.**

 **Hamhjolf Stormcrown: Aww, thanks, mate! It was really cool to write that part!**

 **Guest: Yeah, in Volume 4 and onwards, I will try to make it my own thing if Volume 5 doesn't come out.**

 **SW11037: Altaïr and Ezio are roughly the same height, about 6 feet. Connor is a giant, around 6'4. Edward is slightly on the shorter side, at 5'10. Arno was Napoleon's height at approximately 5'7. Jacob and Evie were about the same height as Arno. Adéwalé seems just slightly taller than Edward, probably 5'11, or a full 6.**

 **Guest: Yeaaaa me too…**

 **Guest: I consider Ruby to be Altaïr's counterpart in this story, but personally, I don't see it. Who knows? Maybe it grows to something else or it's just platonic. But for now, they're friends, with Altaïr being some kind of big brother to her. By the way, I think Evie and Neptune would be interesting.**

 **Guest: Yeah, probably.**

 **Guest: Thaanks**

 **Guest: Yeah just harmless flirting. They go to the same academy, and they're currently friends. I'll decide whether or not this will last.**

 **Sam hill: Maybe…**

 **Baron Bolt: Edward's my favorite too! (other than Jacob)**

 **EzioisPIRATE: That's the plan, mate.**

 **thedarkwolf95: Yeah, that would make sense.**

 **Infinity Emperor: I'm planning on having Ruby be that character, and if not Jaune and Pyrrha since he's helping to train Jaune with Pyrrha.**

 **Guest: I can't make any promises…**

 **Batmd: Hmmm… that actually works!**

 **Guest: You'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Jack905: Thanks! Groin kick works every time!**

 **Emiliano733: True, but the silver eyes thing was kinda Deus Ex Machina anyways. I'm guessing Ruby would rather ask Altaïr or Arno since she's interacted with them more.**


	17. The Inventor

**Grimm Studies, Beacon Academy**

Weiss was bored. Undeniably bored. Port was blabbing gibberish and her patience was wearing thin. After this, Ruby was planning on investigating some plot against the kingdom, and granted, she was hesitant, but now she just wanted the bell to ring already.

But to her right, Jaune scooched over to her, much to her disdain for his less than desirable attempts to hit on her and the fact that he didn't know about Team RWBY's plans. "So Weiss, you know, I was thinking that after this, maybe we could go grab a bite to eat?"

When she said nothing, he didn't stop. "And uh, you know I-I've got a couple tickets to that new Michael Bassfender movie if you want to make the trip to Vale. _Assassin's Creed_ , was it? I know they said it wasn't good, b-but I still wanna see it if you want to, I mean, I played the game, and the trailer looked pretty good!"

"And… then maybe after that we could study together? Because you know, I'm smart and I'm… you know…" Jaune continued, before the bell rang, causing Port to stop speaking.

"…and then I- Oh, uh, timed that one wrong. Well, the stunning conclusion to the story will have to wait until next time. Class dismissed."

"Weiss? Did you hear me?" Jaune asked the heiress one last time, unsure if she heard him due to her silence.

"No, no, no, yes." Weiss coldly answered as she turned to leave with the other students, leading Jaune to groan with his face down on his desk.

"Someday, my friend." Ezio patted him on the back as he passed the poor boy.  
 **  
Team RWBY's dorm, Beacon Academy**

Ruby was getting pumped seeing her team prepare for their mission. Ruby wore what she called her "Slayer" outfit. It consisted of a long-sleeved gray shirt with a black pinafore over her torso and combat skirt like a corset. Around her neck, she wrapped her cloak around it like a scarf.

Weiss was dressed in her "SnowPea" outfit, consisting of a white double-breasted jacket with black trims and a white skirt, as well as matching thigh-high boots with heels and black stockings, giving Weiss a more militaristic look.

Blake was tightening the ribbons around her forearms, wearing her "Intruder" outfit. The outfit consisted of a white v-neck cropped shirt with a black hem. She wore black pants as well as high-heeled boots, as well as pieces of fabric under her belt.

Yang cocked Ember Celica, making sure her gauntlets were functioning properly. She was dressed in what she referred to as her "Hunter" outfit. Yang wore a deep-collared cream-colored vest over a low cut black shirt that exposed her cleavage. She also wore a black shrug with a high collar with sleeves ending in gold cuffs similar to her gauntlets. On her legs she wore thigh-high stockings under a black miniskirt and a pair of black and gold belts, with a purple piece of fabric hanging from her hip similar to Henry's outfit.

Team ACEE was there too, and getting their own outfits on. Altaïr's attire was nearly identical in design to his regular robes, but was colored dark blue, with a brown hood and brown leather trailing from under his red sash and around his belt.

Ezio was wearing his Helmschmied Drachen armor, consisting mainly of a dark robe with a deep crimson trim. The tails on his robe were slightly longer, and his chest and shoulders protected by heavy plated armor, beautifully decorated and shining with intricate patterns adorning the metal, with his sword hanging from his belt and throwing knives sheathed opposite each end of a stylized Assassin insignia.

Connor was wearing a white and black robe, with the tails on his overcoat decorated with a dark red trim. On his back were tassels and on his feet were long black boots with belts on the sides of his thighs. His hood extended to cover his collar and hanging from under it was a small braid, and under his coat was a white, buttoned shirt, with the Assassin insignia just exposed from the folds of his top.

Edward sheathed his swords and cocked his pistols. He wore a dark brown leather coat over a white shirt, with metal plates covering his shoulders, shins and forearms. He had red sashes round his waist and shoulder, as well as a matching bandanna around his head.

"Alright guys, today's the day. The investigation BEGINS!" Ruby squealed with excitement.

"I'm glad to see that we're taking this so seriously." Altaïr noted.

"Hey, we've got a plan! That's… moderately serious!" Yang said.

"Alright, everyone remember their roles?" Ruby asked the group.

"Altaïr and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as how I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." Weiss said.

"Ruby and I will pay a visit to my friend Leonardo. He has upgrades ready for our weapons." Ezio said.

"Wait, wasn't Ruby meant to go with Weiss?" Yang asked.

"I know, but seriously?! THIS IS LEONARDO DA FREAKING VINCI! I CAN'T MISS OUT ON THIS!" Ruby retorted.

"Connor?"

"The White Fang holds regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If Blake and I can get in, we can anticipate their next move." Connor said to them.

Yang then spoke up. "Edward and I know a guy downtown who knows everything going on in Vale. Getting info out of him shouldn't be a problem."

"Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we've found. Let's do this!" Ruby said.  
 **  
Somewhere in Vale…**

"Sooo… what's he like?" Ruby asked Ezio.

"Who?" Ezio asked her.

"Leonardo!"

"Ah, yes. He's a very delightful man. I'm sure you would love to meet him." Ezio explained to her.

The two of them were walking down the streets of Vale, trying to find the inventor's shop. Ruby was on edge, very excited to meet someone she admired greatly and Ezio laughed to himself at her behavior.

"Is he really as smart as they say?" The girl asked Ezio again.

Ezio looked at her and smiled. "No. He's smarter."

Ruby giggled, and soon they came to stop at a city block. Ezio and Ruby walked in and saw that the interior was remodeled as some sort of workshop, with models and plans decorating the walls and the desks.

Ruby was in absolute awe as she observed and studied the blueprints and designs. Each idea whether on paper or as a 3D model was amazingly detailed and intricate, with each measurement fitting exactly the right proportions and clearly shows how each part held the design together. Whoever had come up with these knew exactly what they were doing and how to do it.

"Ezio? Is that you, my friend?" a voice called out from behind the counter.

A man stepped out, accidentally bumping his head against the wood as he raised himself up. He had long brown hair under his red beret, and he also wore a striped shirt with a red cape, his belt decorated with pouches and tools.

"Leonardo!" Ezio greeted his friend with a hug.

"Good to see you, my friend! How may I help you?" The inventor asked his friend.

Ezio handed his scroll to Leonardo. "I need some weapons upgraded, if you don't mind."

However, he only smiled in response. "Anything for you, my friend."

Leo then looked beside Ezio to see Ruby staring at him with eyes wide. Leo raised an eyebrow and asked Ezio, "And who might this little _bambina_ be?"

Ruby's face flushed red and tried to say something, but only managed to stutter incoherently. "I-Uhhh…. Err-… Ahh-"

Ezio chuckled at her behavior, but he knew it was difficult to speak in front of a role model. "Leonardo, this is Ruby. She's a big fan of yours."

"Ah, I see. Nice to meet you, Ruby." Leonardo said, kindly extending a hand for her.

"N-n-nice to meet y-you too!" Ruby stuttered.

Leonardo observed the designs on the scroll and swiped through them. "Hmm… yes. I can get some of these done for you today, but I do not have all the parts I need here, and I'm out of Dust. I'll need to make a short shopping trip about town, and then I can get them done by sunset. How would you like to help me out?"

"You can count on me, sir!" Ruby said with a determined grin, much to the two men's amusement. However, Ruby looked beyond the counter to see a familiar looking girl seated.

"P-Penny?"

Penny jumped up in surprise to hear someone other than Leo say her name, and turned to see Ruby. She remembered her father's words to stay away from anyone, and she began to panic inwardly.

"I-I'm sorry. *hic* I-I think you're m-mistaken." Penny stuttered.

Leonardo saw that Ruby had noticed Penny, and a sweat formed on his brow. Ironwood firmly instructed him to keep Penny away from any outsiders, and from the looks of things, Ruby seemed to have met her that night at the docks, which did not help his case at all. But Leo sighed inwardly. Maybe if Ruby was her friend then she could be trusted with Penny's secret should she have found out.

"Err… I'm sorry. Have you met Penny?" Leo asked Ruby.

"Huh? Oh yeah! I met her some few months ago at the docks! She's a friend of mine! Are you her dad or something?" Ruby asked Leo, noticing several pieces of clothing and a small backpack behind the counter, most likely Penny's things.

"Oh, no! Penny here's visiting for the tournament. Her father asked me to babysit!"

Ruby turned to Penny with wide eyes and began spewing questions nonstop while violently shaking the girl back and forth by the shoulders. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU LIVED WITH LEONARDO DA VINCI?! WHERE WERE YOU ALL THESE MONTHS?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I WAS WORRIED SICK!"

"R-Ruby, slow down!" Penny pleaded to her friend, causing Ruby to release her.

"I can tell you everything as we assist Mr. Da Vinci."

Ruby nodded in agreement and as Ezio and Leo got their things, each of them exited the workshop, but not before Ruby noticed Leonardo locking his door and pressing a button on his key.

"What did you do?" Ruby asked him.

"Oh, the key? Security system. I need one somehow." Leonardo joked, earning a giggle from Ruby.  
 **  
Beacon Cross-Communications Tower, Vale**

Altaïr and Weiss walked through the massive park and gazed in front of them at the towering building that was Vale's CCT. The area was littered with hundreds of students, each dressed in Beacon uniforms, each talking amongst each other or flocking in and out of the tower.

"If I remember correctly, Atlas's tower was the first?" Altaïr asked Weiss.

"Correct. Atlas was the first to develop long-distance instant communication, and shared it with the rest of Remnant. Their gift to the world after the Great War." Weiss answered him.

The two of them walked the building and gawked at the impressive architecture. The interior was in a very similar style to the Academy, with large wooden doors headed by tall paned glass providing a skylight that illuminated the tower's interior with warm sunlight.

They walked into the elevator, and a female voice spoke from the speaker. "Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?"

"We would like to go to the communications room please."

"Absolutely. Would you please place your scrolls on the terminal to verify your identities?"

Weiss and Altaïr both took out their scrolls and held them in front of the terminal, with a short beep confirming their verifications.

"Perfect. Thank you, Ms. Schnee. Mr. Ibn-La'Ahad." The receptionist kindly said before the elevator began to ascend slowly.

The two of them exited the elevator and entered the communications room, a large space occupied by sets of monitors and seats, with students video-calling friends and family. They walked up to the counter, where a hologram of the receptionist waited and greeted them. "Welcome to the Beacon Cross-Continental Transmit Center. How may I help you?"

Weiss spoke up first. "I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas."

Altaïr continued. "I would like to make a call to _The Aquila_ in Vale, please."

"Perfect! Ms. Schnee, if you could head over to Terminal 3, I'll patch you through. Mr. Ibn-La'Ahad, I'll get you hooked up if you head over to Terminal 6."

The two parted ways and sat down at their individual terminals to make their calls. Weiss took a deep breath, but sighed. It would be difficult to look back at that life when her surname was all she was associated with.

The monitor sparked to life and Weiss was greeted with the face of a receptionist with the Schnee snowflake symbol in the background. "Thank you for calling the Atlas- Oh… Ms. Schnee! Good afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well."

"No thank you, I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I made a short list." Weiss held up her scroll and plugged it into the terminal, sending data to the receptionist's monitor.

"I see… If you don't mind… What may I ask is this for?" The receptionist asked her, rather skeptical.

"Err…School project." Weiss said, not willing to raise suspicion.

"Um, there are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am." The woman said to her with a cocked brow.

"Well, then I'll be sure to treat them with care!" Weiss reassuringly replied.

"Right… Very well. The data is being transferred to your scroll now." She said while typing on her monitor, with a beeping noise on Weiss's scroll confirming the transfer.

"Wonderful. That will be all then." Weiss said.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Weiss said, her voice slightly faltering in tone.

"Well, then. Have a nice day!" She said before hanging up. Weiss's face then fell, being reminded of the man her father was, becoming more and more like that corrupt monster Crawford Starrick with each passing day.

Altaïr went over to his terminal and saw as the screen flickered on, with the face of none other than his old friend, Malik Al-Sayf.

"Hello and- Oh. It's _you_. What now?" Malik greeted him with an exasperated voice.

Altaïr plugged in his scroll, and an incognito symbol popped up on the side of the screen, ensuring their conversation couldn't be traced. "How does the Bureau fare in our absence?"

"Some new initiates came in, with some transfers from the Mistral Brotherhood to aid in the investigation on the orders of the Mentor. Training is as always." Malik said.

"Yes, I was introduced to them at Beacon. Anyways, what can you tell me about the Silver-Eyed warriors?"

Malik sighed and typed on his keyboard, his metal arm clanking as each finger tapped on the keys. "Apparently, members of this unique heritage have a powerful advantage over Grimm. Nothing is said much about what effect their power has on humans or faunus, but we do know that the Maidens are particularly vulnerable to them."

"Interesting. Can you find me any existing examples of these warriors?" Altaïr asked.

Malik typed a bit more on his monitor and as a bleep sounded, he turned to Altaïr. "From what I could scrounge up, only one bloodline has displayed the Silver-Eyed trait in recent documentation. But Summer Rose was reported killed in battle during the Mountain Glenn Breach some years back. Says here that her daughter is in the custody of her father, Taiyang Xiao Long and should be studying with you in Beacon."

Altaïr sighed. "Ruby is one of them, I know it. But so far, she does not know how to use the power. Quite frankly, she seems completely unaware of it."

Malik rubbed his temples and asked his friend, "What will you do? You can't train her how to use powers you don't have."

"I won't. I will protect her and help to train her fighting prowess. Ruby is already a skilled individual, and it is clear that she has learned much from Qrow."

"Will you induct her into the Brotherhood? From the way you speak, she would be a skilled Assassin." Malik suggested.

"No. She is too innocent, and I fear she lacks the killer instinct needed in our line of work. When the time is right, I will make my move." Altaïr said.

"You haven't failed yet, and I will trust you to make the right move." Malik said kindly.

"Safety and peace, Malik." Altaïr said to his friend.

"Safety and peace, brother." Malik said, hanging up.  
 **  
City Square, Vale**

Leonardo, Ezio, Ruby and Penny walked down the street, with Leonardo and Ezio carrying boxes full of weapon parts and tools.

"I'm sorry, my friends, but I'm afraid I know nothing of the White Fang's affairs as of late." Leonardo told Ezio.

"It is fine. Once we upgrade our weapons, we will be able to stop them before they make their next move." Ezio replied.

Ruby watched as the two older men discussed and turned to Penny. "Penny, what happened to you last night? We were all together and then you just disappeared! We thought you were kidnapped or something!"

"Oh, no! Nothing like that! I was simply picked up by Mr. Da Vinci. You have to understand. I've never been to another kingdom before, so my father asked me not to venture out too far. Mr. Da Vinci's taking care of me here, and you must understand, he tries very hard to look after me, and he worries quite often." Penny explained.

"Believe me, I know that feeling." Ruby said, remembering her dad's first reaction to Crescent Rose.

"Hear that, Leo? You just might make an ideal father!" Ezio joked.

Leonardo sighed. "I'll take that into consideration once I feel like it, thank you very much."

"But still! Why not let us know?" Ruby asked.

"I was asked… not to talk to you…or Weiss… or Blake… or Yang. Anybody really."

"Your father worries that much?" Ezio asked Penny.

"No, it wasn't my father… or Mr. Da Vinci."

But just then, they heard a loud voice play over a loudspeaker. The four of them turned a corner and noticed a hologram of none other than General Ironwood speaking in front of a large crowd.

"The AK130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years. And they have done a fine job, wouldn't you agree?" The general said, with rows of robots standing in line.

"But the Kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation. And fine, well that's just not good enough, is it? Presenting… the Atlesian Knight 200!" Ironwood announced, cueing new robots to appear behind the AK130s. These robots were white and black as opposed to the chrome and blue. They were also sleeker more humanlike than the bulky machines.

"Smarter, sleeker and admittedly, a little less scary. These models will be active later this year, but they won't be alone. Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that undoubtedly require... a human touch."

"So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company and Starrick Industries are proud to introduce… the Atlesian Paladin!" The general proclaimed, revealing a giant hologram of a huge mech suit.

"Now, we couldn't have them here for you today, but I can assure you, these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending our borders within the year!"

"Leonardo… I believe you may know something I don't?" Ezio asked Leonardo.

Leonardo sighed. "I am one of the brightest inventors and engineers in Remnant. Of course they would come to me! Besides, I couldn't turn down an offer this big."

Ruby, on the other hand was drooling at the glorious sight of the Paladin, with her "weapon nerd" mode taking control. But Penny was on edge. "Ruby? I think we should be going."

Two soldiers at the square caught sight of Penny and began running towards the four of them. Penny ran off, much to Ruby's confusion. "Penny?"

"Penny!" Leonardo exclaimed, running to catch up with her.

Ruby then looked ahead of them to see the soldiers catching up. "C'mon!" Ezio said, causing both of them to run as well.

The four of them ran down an alley, and then they crossed a small street. The soldiers followed, only for a car to brake right in front of them, stalling them momentarily. Ezio looked ahead to see a scaffolding supporting a bunch of crates. Ezio aimed his hidden pistol and fired at one of the legs, bringing down the structure and blocking the way.

Ruby then realized the soldiers wouldn't give up so easily. "Grab on to me!" She called out to her friends, causing Leonardo, Ezio and Penny to grab onto her. Ruby then summoned her Semblance, bursting forward with lightning fast speed. Ruby was able to keep her energy in check for a while, before she began to slump over, completely drained from over-exertion of her Aura.

She crashed on the ground, rolling onto the street. As she got up, she heard the sound of a truck's horn behind her, but it was too late for her to move out of the way. However, Penny pushed her away and held out her arms, somehow stopping the vehicle in its tracks with her hands, the force of the impact driving her feet into the asphalt.

"Are you okay?" Penny asked the driver, who hesitantly nodded from the shock of what had just happened.

"P-penny?..." Ruby asked with wide eyes in disbelief.

"I…" Penny stammered, before running off.

"Leonardo? Would you care to explain?" Ezio asked his friend, who gave no answer and ran to meet up with Penny.

"Penny! Please! What is going on?! Why are you running?! How did you do that?!" Ruby asked hastily.

"I-I can't! Everything's fine, okay? (hic) I-I don't want to talk about it! (hic)" Penny said, obviously panicking.

"Penny, if you can just tell me what's wrong, I can help you!" Ruby insisted.

Penny looked to Leonardo for approval, to which he sighed, then nodded reluctantly. "Penny, it's okay. I promise I won't tell him. You can trust them."

"You're my friend, right? You promise?!" Penny asked Ruby.

"Of course! I promise!" Ruby said.

"Ruby…" Penny began, revealing her palms.

"I'm… not a real girl." Penny's hands were open, revealing metallic alloy under her ripped skin.

Ruby stared in disbelief, only able to mutter, "Oh…"  
 **  
Next up: TEAM ATTACKS!**

 **Hello! I'm not dead! YAY! Sorry for the long wait. Lately I've been feeling rather lazy, and I couldn't exactly be home all the time to work when I'm being dragged along for shopping trips or eating out 24/7. I feel like this chapter was kinda rushed, but I'm just satisfied to get it done. Thanks to all of you for being patient and I hope to do a great job with the next one! Until next time!**

 **Sam hill: That does sound like Darwin to me! He doesn't seem relevant enough, but maybe I'll consider something.**

 **Guest: True, Blake would be a Dickens fan.**

 **MrNoobishDude: How exciting indeed!**

 **Juanmiguelmanalang: I probably will write him as the progenitor for the Brotherhood existing in Remnant, maybe he was a fighter in the Great War.**

 **SW11037: Okay, so Altaïr is dressed up in Thomas de Carneillon's outfit from AC: Unity, because the outfit bears much similarity to Altaïr's Levantine robe, and I'm reserving another choice for Vol. 4. Ezio is wearing the Drachen armor from AC: Brotherhood. Connor is wearing what was an early concept design for his outfit. Search it up and you'll find it. Edward is wearing Captain Drake's outfit.**

 **Sam hill: Yeah, that would be funny, but I'm planning to introduce the Gentlemen of Fortune in Vol. 4.**

 **Big Ben: Haha I loved Stede Bonnet in Black Flag! But you'll have to wait a while.**

 **: Yeah, maybe I will, but I'll have to wait and see if I can do anything original for once.**

 **derek603: Thanks!**

 **Guest: But do remember, Ruby's character doesn't completely change by then. She's accepted the world as it is, but she still is somewhat lighthearted and cheerful, though not as much as she used to be. But yes, maybe that's what happens later. And yes, whoever flirts with Ezio's lady DOES NOT GET AWAY WITH IT**

 **Guest: Yeah, that'd be cool**

 **Emiliano733: NAAAHH it's pretty good. What does "ic" mean, btw?**

 **Jack905: Yes, he was.**

 **Small hill: Nah, I don't think they'd make the trip to the Festival.**

 **Batmd: Huh, that could work.**

 **Baron Bolt: Uhhh… what? Sure, maybe.**


	18. Highway to Hell

**Random alley, Vale City Square**

"Penny, I-I don't understand…"

"Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the first synthetic person capable of generating an aura." Penny said to her confused friend, but had a sullen look on her face.

"I'm not real…"

Penny lowered her head in sadness, but Ruby gently took hold of her hands and said, "Of course you are."

"You think that just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?"

Penny raised her brow. "I, um… You're taking this… extraordinarily well."

Ezio stepped forward. "Penny, those machines we saw at the square are nothing like you are."

"Yeah, he's right. You've got a heart and a soul, I can feel it!" Ruby continued, placing a hand over her chest, where it felt slightly warmer than the coldness of metal.

"Oh, Ruby! You're the best friend anyone could have!" Penny said, her voice breaking as she hugged Ruby tightly.

"I would see why your father would want to protect a delicate flower such as yourself." Ezio said.

"Oh, he's very sweet. My father's the one who built me! I'm sure you'd just love him!" Penny said.

"Wow! He built you all by himself?" Ruby asked.

"Well, almost. He asked Mr. Da Vinci for assistance!" Penny said.

Ruby looked to Leonardo, who was scratching the back of his head and laughing awkwardly. "Yes, _messer_ Geppetto came to me with high spirits. Told me he received a funding from General Ironwood on this project. So of course, I lent him my skills and ideas and behold, we create this beautiful little girl."

Penny giggled from his comment and Ezio raised his hand. "Wait… General Ironwood? Is that why those soldiers were chasing us?"

"Oh, they love to protect me too!" Penny answered him.

"They don't think they can protect yourself?" Ruby asked her.

"Well… they don't think I'm ready yet. One day, it'll be my job to save the world. But I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the tournament." Penny said.

However, Ruby was confused by her words. "P-Penny, what are you talking about? Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace."

"That's… not what Mr. Ironwood said…" Penny awkwardly answered her.

But then, the group heard a voice call out from down the alley. "Check down here!"

Leonardo's eyes's widened and grabbed Ezio by the shoulders. "Ezio, you and Ruby have to hide. We don't want to get you in trouble. Meet us at the workshop, and your weapons should be there, ready to go. Got it?"

" _Bene._ " Ezio said, throwing down a smoke bomb and pulling Ruby onto his back before proceeding to climb up the building with Ruby on his back piggyback-style.

"Salutations, officers!" Penny said to the soldiers.

"Why were you running? And where were those two other people with you?" The soldier sternly asked Penny.

"What are you talking about? Penny and I simply went shopping!" Leonardo said to them, hoping they would buy his half-truth.

"Well, you shouldn't create such a scene, Penny! Was she hurt?" One soldier asked Leonardo.

"Just a scratch. I can get it fixed right away." Leonardo said, as Penny held out her palms for the soldier to see.

"Penny, your father isn't gonna be happy about this. Please, come with us." The soldier told them.

But Leonardo intervened. "No. Please. Her father asked me to take care of her, so let us be."

The soldiers looked to each other and nodded. "Fine. But please, don't cause another scene."

 **Downtown Vale**

Yang parked her bike on the side of the road, and stared at the large doors to Junior's club. She took off her yellow helmet, letting her long hair free and hopped off the bike.

"C'mon! He's just in here!"

Edward ruffed up his messy hair and gazed at the place. "Hmm… Good to be back, Junior."

Inside the club, Junior was washing some shot glasses behind the bar. But then he heard some of his men screaming and rushing in from the door, hurriedly closing it.

"What're you two idiots doing?!"

The men were yelling, trying to warn him, until the door burst from its hinges in a fiery blast, and walking from the smoke were none other than Yang and Edward.

"Guess who's back!" Yang said, only to have every bouncer draw their guns in their faces, however, they weren't fazed.

The music then began to stall, and Yang glared at the DJ. Edward rolled his eyes. "Oh, for fuck's sake!"

Edward then drew his pistol and shot, knocking the needle off from the record and stopping the music.

Junior walked up to confront them, calling out to his men. Last time a fight broke out here, he had a dislocated jaw and was sinking in debt from repairs. "Stop! Stop! Nobody shoot! Blondie! Kenway? You're here! Why…?"

"We want to talk. Besides, you still owe me a drink." Yang said, dragging Junior by his ear."

Edward chuckled to himself. "What a woman…"

He then noticed Melanie and Militia beside him and said, "Remember me? How's your face, Militia?"

Both girls simply scoffed and strutted away. "Hmph. Whatever."

 **White Fang meeting, Unknown location**

Connor gazed over a mark on the wall, scanning it with his Eagle Vision. He drew his fingers over the claw marks and looked to his side to see a man letting several faunus through a certain alley.

"This is the place. I'm positive." Connor said, causing Blake to nod as she began removing her bow, revealing her feline ears and Connor lowered his hood, his wolf ears rising from his hair.

They walked past, and the man let them in, their faunus traits giving them a pass, as well as handing them Grimm-esque masks.

"New recruits, keep to the right!" A burly lieutenant called out, trying to usher the recruits into the meeting.

Blake stared at the mask, her thoughts adrift. Connor noticed this and patted her on the shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

Blake sighed. "N-no. Remember… when we didn't need these things? When initiations went differently?"

Connor's mind travelled down memory lane, causing him to feel both regret and joy in remembering their time of peace in the Fang. "Yes. Yes, I do. But if nobody else will, we will make it right. I promise."

Blake smiled and placed the mask on her face, walking into the large warehouse. Hundreds of faunus were in the room, with a quarter of which were new members, wearing mixed attire, eager to join the Fang. In front of the room was a large stage, with a large banner adorned with the White Fang insignia.

The lieutenant on stage spoke up once everyone was in the room. "Thank you all for coming. Now, for those of you just joining us here tonight, let me introduce some very special comrades of ours. I can assure you, they are the keys to obtaining what we have fought for, for so long."

And out of the shadows, two figures emerged. The first was none other than Roman Torchwick, the other was Jack, his face covered by his signature mask.

"I hope you have this under control." Jack said to him under his breath.

"Please, leave this to the professional in the room." Roman threw back, before stepping out to speak, being met with jeers and outrage from the extremists.

"What's a human doing here?!" A recruit asked out loud.

"I'm glad you asked, dearie. Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans are the worst. Case in point." Roman began, gesturing to himself.

"Now, I would understand why you'd want to see us all locked away, or better yet; killed! But before I get into details, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy."

Jack then stepped out. "Take a look out there. The ones in control, pulling the strings of society. The dirty scumbag humans that run our kingdoms. The government, the military, even the schools are all the monsters who send their own children to fight a war that isn't even there. They ignore our plights and struggles, living in ignorance of true injustice!"

"Those who fight monsters are the real monsters around here. And why am I here?"

Jack sneered maliciously and tugged at his mask. "Well, let's just say that in order to fight monsters, you need monsters on your side."

Jack pulled his mask off, revealing a horrific sight. Up his neck and across his cheeks were glowing red veins and his skin was unnaturally white. His eyes were an eerie black with red irises. His hair was messy and black, and his teeth were sharp and pointed. Along his cheeks, small bone spikes were visible, giving him a horrifying resemblance to a human Grimm.

The crowd gasped and some stepped back from his terrifying reveal, and even Roman reeled back in horror. Connor stared wide-eyed at this monster of a man. " _What the hell happened to him_?"

Jack held out his hand, causing a miniature Nevermore to perch on his gloved hand. His eyes then flared red, and a smile crept across his face. "I can sense it amongst you. Fear. Anxiety. A powerful tool that can crumble the very foundations of the strongest army. I will show them fear. WE will show them all!" Jack said, earning the spirit of the crowd.

"And when the dust settles, they will grovel at our feet and we will claim what was meant for us!" Jack said.

Roman then continued for him. "These pests have to be dealt with don't they?! And no offence to any rodents in the room, but let's just say I'm the best exterminator around."

Jack then flicked a knife at the rope holding up the banner and as the banner fell, the gigantic form of an Atlesian Paladin was revealed, earning a massive applause from the crowd.

"How did he get that thing?" Blake quietly asked Connor.

"As you may have heard, this thing here is Altas' newest line of defense against all the scary things in the world. And thans to my employer, we've managed to snag a few before they, uh… hit the shelves." Roman announced.

Jack then continued. "Now, some of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay in the city, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal we can give you. Now, who's ready for a field test?"

The crowd cheered with a loud and combined chant, but Blake was getting uneasy. "We need to leave. Now."

"Will all new recruits please come forward." The lieutenant called out, causing the crowd to step forth.

Roman looked through the crowd and his eyes fell upon Blake and Connor. He narrowed his eyes and nudged Jack with his elbow.

"He sees us…" Connor said.

Jack narrowed his glare at the pair and cast off the Nevermore into the air, and as it flew towards them, Connor noticed the fuse box above the stage and whispered to Blake, "Run. Now."

 **Junior's Club**

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anything!" Junior insisted.

"What?! How is that even possible?!" Yang asked him, annoyed.

Junior sighed. "I haven't talked to him. I haven't even seen him since that night you two came in here. He paid upfront, I lent him my men, and none of them ever came back."

Edward cocked his eyebrow. "You never bothered to know what happened to them?"

Junior placed a palm on his forehead. "I guess Torchwick wasn't happy with my boys, and he got rid of them. Which is SOMETHING I CAN RELATE TO!" Junior said the last part quite loudly, not so subtly referring to his guards.

Edward wasn't buying it, however. "You know, Xiong, there's word on the streets of a gang war. The Rooks and the Blighters. I wonder if you'd be involved in this affair, since you're selling men to Torchwick."

"I don't know what you're talking about, kid."

"Alright… then, how do you explain _this_?" Edward pinched a badge from Junior's pocket, one with the insignia of the Blighters, with a fist holding a dagger.

"I'm gonna make you talk, one way or another." Edward said sinisterly, drawing his hidden blades.

"Get them!" Junior called out to his men.

"Ready for Round 2, lass?" Edward asked Yang, who deployed Ember Celica in a battle stance.

"Always." Yang said with a determined grin.

Edward ran up to one thug, slamming his shoulder into his chest, before kneeing him in the gut and nailing him to the floor with his hidden blade. As another guard drew his gun, Edward ran at him with his swords, deflecting any shots his way and slashed at his neck, knocking him out.

Yang punched one man in the chest and uppercutted him, knocking him out. Another thug swung with a blade, but Yang caught his arm and pulled, bringing him in for an elbow to the chin and a heel to the shin, before she slammed down a fist at the man's head.

Junior ran forward and caught Yang by surprise with a chokehold, bashing at her head, severely weakening her. After Yang had lessened her struggle, Junior put a knife to her throat.

Edward noticed this, and in a rage, he shot Junior in the face, stunning him and causing him to let her go. He sprinted towards Junior, unloading his flintlocks into his Aura. Junior tried to hit him, but he was too fast to land a hit on. Edward elbowed him in the face, slashed his throat with a hidden blade and ran up on his chest for leverage so he could pound down on Junior's head as he fell to the ground.

Edward didn't stop there and repeatedly punched him on the ground. When his Aura faded, Junior tried to raise his hand, but Edward grabbed it and twisted, breaking it. And if that wasn't enough, he flicked his wrist up, driving the hidden blade through his wrist, causing Junior to scream in agony.

"Ready to talk, you piece of shite?"

"Fine! Fine! Torchwick was hired by some lady! Ever since then, he's been off of our radar, and using our men for her work! Now he doesn't respond to the boss and if anything, we've lost track of him entirely! I swear, that's all I know! Please stop!" Junior pleaded.

"Just remember… I could kill you in the blink of an eye, so do not screw with me ever again." Edward threatened him with his hidden blade pointing at his jugular, before pounding down on his head, knocking Junior out.

Edward rushed over to Yang and helped her up. "Yang! You alright?"

Yang coughed a bit and rubbed her head, but nonetheless had a light smile on her face. "Yeah, thanks."

Edward looked behind him to see the rest of the guards standing in fear. "Let us leave, or you won't leave this place alive." Edward said to them, extending his hidden blade, scaring them into retreating.

"You find what we needed?" Yang asked Edward.

"Yeah, now we just need to wait and see how it went out for the others."

 **Warehouse, Downtown Vale**

Connor drew his tomahawk and fired it in its pistol mode, cutting off the power and giving them an escape route. The two of them jumped out the window amongst the chaos, only for the massive Paladin suit to burst from the wall and pursue them.

Connor and Blake jumped atop a building and ran, freerunning across the rooftops as the Paladin rampaged through the streets.

"Blake, we need backup now!" Connor called out.

"On it!" Blake replied, pulling out her scroll.

 **Beacon Cross-Communications Tower, Vale**

Weiss and Altaïr exited the elevator, when Weiss' scroll began to ring, causing her to pull it out. Blake's voice was heard. "Everyone, if you can hear me, we need backup now!"

Weiss and Altaïr looked to each other and ran out the door. Altaïr looked up at the tower and noticed a ledge with an eagle flying overhead.

"Give me a minute. I can find where they are." He told the confused heiress and he jumped up and climbed up the building.

The assassin leapt from ledge to ledge and scaled glass panes and balconies, and nobody noticed him in the darkness of night thanks to his outfit. Eventually, he reached the towering peak of the building, and crawled on the ledge on top.

Altaïr closed his eyes to focus his senses and opened them to scan his environment. His senses were boosted tenfold and in the distance, he could see the Paladin chasing Blake and Connor. Stretching out his arms and leaning forward, he executed a Leap of Faith and landed safely into a pile of leaves.

He tapped a stunned Weiss on the arm and said, "Hey, let's go! This way!"

"B-bu- how'd y-you…" Weiss stuttered, before shrugging it off and joining him.

 **Leonardo da Vinci's Workshop**

"… and that should be all!" Leonardo said, presenting Ruby with an all-new weapon.

"Meet Crescent Rose 2.0!" Leonardo said, extending the upgraded weapon for Ruby to see. Ruby nearly died of excitement as she looked over her weapon. The weapon now was equipped with an upgraded scope and an interchangeable firing mode, either switching to silenced shots or fully automatic fire.

The scythe blade was also upgraded to harness dust, as Leonardo demonstrated by inserting a Fire Dust cartridge into Crescent Rose, causing the blade to glow red and burn with fire lapping the steel.

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOOOUUUU!" Ruby squealed, hugging Leonardo, much to Ezio's amusement.

But just then, Ruby's scroll went off, and she answered, hearing Connor on the other end. "They've got a robot! A really big one! We need help now!"

"Oh, I am not missing this!" Ruby said.

"Thank you for everything, _amico mio._ " Ezio bid Leonardo goodbye with a hug before picking up a bag full of new weapons for the gang.

"Anything for you, Ezio. Come back if you need anything!" Leonardo said, with Penny waving Ruby goodbye.

 **Junior's Club, Downtown Vale**

"Torchwick has control of a Paladin! He's after us and we need assistance now!" Connor yelled over his scroll.

"Where are you guys?!" Yang asked, only to see Blake and Connor run past with a giant mechsuit on their tails.

"I think that was them…" Edward commented.

"I know. Hold on!" Yang said, revving up her bike and giving chase.

 **Some highway…**

Blake and Connor jumped off of the roof and landed on a car, proceeding to leap from vehicle to vehicle down the highway. Torchwick was following closely behind, barging through the traffic.

The two faunus hurriedly quickened their pace, but Roman only charged faster, pushing aside any cars in his way.

Beside the Paladin, Yang managed to keep up in her motorcycle, with Edward in the backseat. "We've got to slow it down!" Yang called out.

"Got it!" Edward replied, standing up and drawing his pistol swords, unloading his clips into the giant machine. But the bullets didn't seem to harm the Paladin as the mech only sped up, pushing cars aside and behind it towards Yang and Edward.

"Hold on!" Yang called out.

"Oh, boy! Argh!" Edward exclaimed as Yang swerved left and right, attempting to keep up with Roman and dodge the cars being thrown their way.

Edward drew his pistol swords again and fired continuously at the legs, slowing the machine down slightly, but just enough for Edward to jump at it and pin his swords into the body of the Paladin.

Blake and Connor stopped running and looked behind them to see Edward. Connor focused and channeled his energy, summoning three wolves made of pure energy and calling them to charge at the robot, each wolf exploding in light as it made impact, stunning Roman.

Connor then leapt up, drawing energy into his body, his tomahawk drawn, ready to strike, but Edward lost his grip and was thrown off, slamming into Connor mid-air, causing both to tumble off the highway.

"Blake, I'm in position!" Blake heard Weiss call out over her scroll.

Weiss flipped down to the highway and stood with a ready stance as the Paladin barreled down the road. Weiss narrowed her eyes and tapped the ground with Myrtenaster, coating the road in ice, causing Roman to lose his balance and slide off of the road, to where Ruby was standing in wait with Ezio and Altaïr. The rest of the gang assembled with them, each holding their upgraded weapons Ezio received from Leonardo.

Roman attempted to get up, but failed to notice the circle of arrows he had landed in.

"Coldheart!" Ruby yelled out, signaling Altaïr to press a button on his crossbow, causing each arrow to explode, and Weiss to push the Paladin upwards with help from the explosion, and summoned a glyph above the suit to send it crashing down.

"Freezerburn!" Ruby called out, signaling Weiss to cover the ground in ice, before Yang jumped up and pounded on the ground with a flaming fist, causing the ice to vaporize and a dense mist covered the area.

Roman's sensors began to malfunction, and he walked through the mist, trying to detect any movement, to no avail. Roman saw something move beside him, and another figure behind him. Taking his chances, he fired, nearly hitting Weiss and Connor before Ruby dashed forward with a fiery strike to the face, leaving a burn mark on the face of the Paladin.

"Twin Blades!" Ruby called out, causing Edward and Blake to run forward, slashing at the legs and the face of the Paladin with their dual blades, driving the massive machine back. Blake jumped up with a shadow clone and stabbed out one of the Paladin's sensors, and Roman attempted to stomp down on Blake, but Weiss pulled her out with a glyph and the two flipped back to dodge a massive volley of missiles headed their way.

Blake was knocked back, but Weiss managed to cast a time dilation glyph under Edward, causing him to glow with a golden light. He activated his Eagle Vision, and under the effects of the glyph, his senses managed to scan and mark each missile headed for him, and he sneered with his pistol swords in hand.

"Icebreaker!" Ruby called out, signaling Edward's eyes to jerk open, slashing and shooting every missile rocketing towards him at incredible speed. Not a bullet or swing of his blade was wasted, with shockwaves from his slashes extending from his swords to hit their target similar to Blake.

Edward then quick-drew his pistols to hit the Paladin's sensors, and soon, Roman was nearly blind.

"Black Rose!" Ruby called out, signaling Ezio to run forward slashing at the mech's legs, with Ruby doing the same with Crescent Rose, both moving left and right with each swipe. Then, the two of them jumped down at Roman, severing one of the Paladin's cannon arms.

Yang took this chance to jump on the Paladin's back, pounding her fist down at it repeatedly, but Roman sprinted backwards into some support pillars, knocking her out, and as she fell, Roman drew back the suit's arm and punched her through another pillar, sending her sprawling across the floor.

"Yang!" Edward cried, only for Ruby to stop him.

"Don't worry! With each hit, she gets stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back! That's what makes her special!" Ruby explained.

Roman sneered and raised his fist again, only for his punch to be caught by Yang with her bare hands, who didn't flinch in the slightest from the attack. With red eyes, Yang returned the strike with a punch so powerful it tore the arm apart, leaving Roman with no other option than to kick her away.

"Bumblebee!" Ruby yelled out, causing Blake to throw Gambol Shroud at Yang, who caught the pistol end. Blake then tugged at the weapon, letting Yang hold on and use her momentum to run back towards Roman.

"We have to slow him down! Iceflower!" Ruby called out, signaling Weiss to activate a glyph in front of Ruby, and as she shot Crescent Rose, each shot exploded into crystals of ice as they hit Roman, staggering him.

"Arrowhead!" Ruby called out, signaling Altaïr to shoot several arrows into the ground, before Connor ran and jumped just above them, cueing Altaïr to detonate them, sending him flying into the air towards Roman.

Connor summoned his energy and formed a massive avatar of a giant wolf around him, and he bounded toward the Paladin using his momentum, and headbutted the massive mechsuit into the air, where Blake swung Yang so her fist could hit the Paladin, shattering the Paladin into hundreds of pieces of scrap metal.

Roman was exposed in the open, dusting himself off. "Ugh, just cleaned this thing!"

Yang glared at him and cocked her gauntlets, taking a shot at him, only for the blast to be blocked. The gang looked ahead to see a petite woman even shorter than Ruby. She wore a white and pink jacket, brown pants and a brown corset with black and white high-heeled boots. Her most notable feature was her face, with her irises a different color of brown and pink, with one side of her hair brown and the other pink with white streaks, with a Neapolitan ice-cream type color scheme.

She raised her parasol with a smile as Roman saluted them. "Ladies. Gentlemen. Ice Queen."

"Hey!"

"Always a pleasure. Neo, if you would?" Neo bowed, and Yang sprinted forward with a fist drawn back.

However, when she hit them, their images simply shattered into glass dust. Yang looked around her, and saw Roman and Neo flying off in a Bullhead.

"I guess he got a new henchman."

"Yeah, I guess she really made our plans… fall apart? Eh?" Weiss joked, much to the rest of the gang's disgust, even Yang, surprisingly.

"No. Just… no."

"What?! But you do it!" Weiss complained.

"There's a time and a place for jokes." Connor said.

"Was this not it?" Weiss asked Yang.

"Yeah, it just… wasn't very good." Yang bluntly responded.

"Well, at least I'm trying!" Weiss whined.

"Man, I'm beat!" Ezio groaned, stretching out his limbs.

"Hey, who wants dinner? I know a noodle shop not far from here!" Edward asked.

Everyone quickly agreed, and walked away to take a well-earned break.

 **Next up: Plots, Spars, and Dates!**

 **Hey, guys! I hope you liked this chapter! Now, let me introduce some upgrades to their weapons.**

 **Altaïr**

 **Crossbow/Sword has a scope installed, rapid-fire functionality and each arrow is explosive and armed on impact. He also now has a dual hidden blade and gun.**

 **Ezio**

 **Sword now transforms into heavy pistol. Pistol can fire either rapid light energy blasts or strong concussive blasts. Hidden guns have rapid-fire functionality and hidden blades are heavily reinforced and armored.**

 **Connor**

 **Tomahawk is now fully metal and stronger in design. Base model is no longer a flintlock, but an automatic pistol.**

 **Edward**

 **Pistols now are fully automatic, swords can assimilate dust qualities.**

 **Ruby**

 **Blade can assimilate dust qualities in cartridges, interchangeable firing modes (silenced/assault)**

 **Weiss**

 **Myrtenaster has higher dust capacity, with more chambers.**

 **Blake**

 **Ribbon is stronger, blade and shockwaves can assimilate dust qualities, ammo capacity is increased, grip on sheath is easier to handle, remote trigger on sheath to shoot the pistol end when not in grip**

 **Yang**

 **Ember Celica has higher fire rate and ammo capacity, armor on gauntlets is increased, with fisticuff extensions with dust nodes to channel dust into punches.**

 **I hope you like them, and I'm gonna get started on the School Dance Arc soon. As always, leave a review, follow this story or favorite, feel free to PM me and I'll see you next time! BYE-BYE!**

 **ENDDRAGON369: Uhhh… what do you mean by that?**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: I have plans for Desmond. Be patient.**

 **Emiliano733: Thanks for the tip!**

 **Jack905: You don't say?!**

 **Guest: I was originally gonna put them in, but I decided that it wouldn't impact the story too negatively if I didn't. I'm a pretty lazy guy, so why not.**

 **Batmd: That's the plan, moite.**

 **SW11037: I know. But thanks anyway.**


	19. Swords and Flowers

**Sparring Ring, Beacon Academy**

Pyrrha looked in front of her to face her opponent. Her hand gripped her weapon tight, her stance strong and unwavering. Her emerald eyes narrowed with her javelin in front of her and her breathing steady.

Opposite the ring from her, Ezio stood with his sword drawn. His other hand gripped a small stiletto in a reverse grip and his mind was calm and his stance firm. Both fighters waited amongst the growing tension, neither of them wavering or flinching.

The buzzer sounded, and both fighters sprinted for the center of the ring. Pyrrha struck first, swinging her javelin at Ezio's legs, but he jumped up to dodge the hit and swung a kick at Pyrrha's face, only for her to block it with her shield and push him away.

Ezio flipped back up, but only to see Pyrrha above him, trying to stab down on him with Miló, but he jumped back to dodge her attack. But Pyrrha countered Ezio by delivering a sweep kick that knocked Ezio off his feet and attempted to jump up and throw her weapon at Ezio, which he blocked by raising his bracer arm.

Pyrrha then used her Semblance to catch the weapon and thrust at Ezio, which he side-stepped and used this opportunity to stab at Pyrrha's neck with his knife, but seeing his counter, she ducked, the blade missing her by a hair's length, but was unprepared for a blast from Ezio's hidden gun.

Pyrrha was knocked back, and Ezio ran up to her with an upwards slash, but she managed to smack Akoúo̱ into Ezio's sword, diverting the blade away from her girth. Using the momentum in her spin, she threw a backhand slash at Ezio using Miló, only for him to raise his arm to block it, but was knocked back from a blunt strike from Pyrrha's shield.

Pyrrha used his brief opening to blast him with dust bullets, before switching back to spin her javelin to parry Ezio's next set of strikes. Ezio then went for a downwards slam with the blade, but Pyrrha flipped out of the way, and in mid-air, Ezio tried to hit her by swinging his blade back upwards in her direction, only for her to block it with her shield, pushing her further into the air.

Using her airtime, Pyrrha flung her shield in Ezio's direction, but using his enhanced senses, Ezio anticipated the move and grabbed the shield and used his momentum to spin and throw the shield back her way, but Pyrrha used her Semblance to catch the shield easily.

Pyrrha landed on the ground gracefully, but Ezio shot a concussive round from his heavy pistol, which Pyrrha quickly flipped away from, only leaving her vulnerable to a hidden pistol shot, sending her on the floor. Once she recovered, she quickly found Ezio on top of her, his wrist flicked upwards and his hidden blade aimed for her jugular. Grabbing his wrist, she pushed against Ezio, using her Semblance to jam his hidden gun momentarily. Pyrrha then wrapped her legs around Ezio's torso and flipped backwards, slamming the assassin under her weight, and then she grabbed Ezio in a chokehold, with her blade against his throat.

The buzzer sounded again, signaling the match's end, causing Pyrrha to drop Ezio.

"And that's the match." Glynda announced.

"Well done, Ms. Nikos. You should have no problem applying for the tournament. Neither will you, Mr. Auditore. You two have fought on near equal levels and I am certain both of you will have a fighting chance in the Vytal Tournament." GLynda continued.

"Thank you, Professor." Both students said, Ezio returning to his seat.

"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?" Glynda asked her class.

The teacher then turned to one particular student. "Ms. Belladonna? You've been rather docile for these past few classes. Why don't yo-"

"I'll do it." A hand popped up.

Glynda adjusted her glasses and recognized the student. "Mercury is it? Very well. Let's find you an opponent."

But Mercury stood up and interrupted her. "Actually, I wanna fight… her."

He then pointed at Pyrrha, but Glynda interjected. "I'm afraid Ms. Nikos has just finished a match. I'd recommend you choose another partner-"

"No! It's fine. I'll be happy to oblige." Pyrrha insisted.

Mercury then stepped down to the ring, his metallic boots clanking on the ground with each step. Along his ankles were shotgun shells, similar to Yang's Ember Celica. He stepped onto the ring and assumed a boxing stance, arms raised. Pyrrha stood ready, and with the sound of the buzzer, Mercury ran her way.

Pyrrha did the same, raising her shield to block a spinning double roundhouse, then sweeping him with her javelin, knocking Mercury off of his feet. Mercury flipped himself back up and Pyrrha continued forth. She used her blade to parry a kick and blocked another with her shield.

Pyrrha blocked a couple more kicks, before swiping at Mercury's boot with her javelin, using this opening to bash her shield into his chest, pushing him back, his boots grinding against the floor.

"Hey, your friend's doing pretty good!" Ruby said to Emerald.

Mercury flipped upwards with a dropkick, which Pyrrha quickly blocked with her shield, doing the same for another roundhouse, then flipping backwards to dodge Mercury's attacks.

Pyrrha held Miló in a reverse grip, and held her shield and blade in front of her face, protecting her from a set of flying kicks by Mercury, then she tossed her blade in the air, freeing her hand to block a strike from the teen.

Grabbing Miló, she used her spinning momentum to swipe at Mercury, only for her javelin to get knocked from her grip. Seeing his chance, Mercury swung a heel for Pyrrha's face, but she raised her palm, lightly shifting Mercury's foot upwards so that it missed.

Sensing the subtle move, Mercury stumbled backwards, leaving Pyrrha to grab her weapon and charge him.

"I forfeit." Mercury said, much to Pyrrha's surprise.

"You… don't even want to try?" Pyrrha asked him.

"What's the point? You're already a world-renowned fighter. We're obviously leagues apart." Mercury simply stated.

"Well in that case, Pyrrha Nikos is the victor of the match… again. Next time you may want to think a little harder before choosing your opponent." Glynda told Mercury.

"I'll be sure to do that."

The bell then sounded, surprising Blake. "That is all for today. And remember, the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first mission on Monday! We will not accept any excuses!"

As each student exited the class, Sun ran up to Blake, who was walking with a hunched back and with bags over her eyes.

"Hey, Blake! You doing okay?" Sun asked her, his hand grabbing her shoulder.

"I'm fine." Blake answered him in a hoarse voice.

Sun then cleared his throat and asked her, "So I hear there's this dance going on this weekend. Ah, sounds pretty lame, but you and me I'm thinking not as lame, huh?"

"What?"

"The dance this weekend! Do you wanna go or what?" Sun asked her.

"I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought you of all people would know that." Blake coldy answered him before walking away.

Ruby noticed her behavior and looked back to Sun, who slouched over and sighed in sadness from her rejection.

 **Team RWBY's Dorm, Beacon Academy**

"You what?!"

"We want you to come to the dance." Ruby pleaded to Blake.

"That's ridiculous!" Blake barked back.

"Blake, we're worried about you. This investigation is starting to mess with your head." Yang told her.

"You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering! Connor says he's never seen you this bad before." Weiss added.

"You think I care about grades?! People's lives are at stake!" Blake insisted.

"We know, and we're all still trying to figure out what Torchwick is up to." Yang said reassuringly.

"Thanks to you and Connor, we know they're operating somewhere outside of Southeast Vale." Ruby said.

"And the Schnee company record singled out Vale as the primary target for dust robberies over the last few months." Weiss continued.

"Don't forget about their missing military tech, too." Yang added.

"But there's still unanswered questions!" Blake said.

"Blake, you won't be able to find anything if you can't even keep your eyes open." Ruby insisted.

"All we're asking is for you to take it easy for one day." Yang told her.

"It'll be fun! Yang and I will make sure of it." Weiss said.

"Yeah! We're planning the whole event!" Yang added.

"Excuse me?" Blake asked, confused.

"Team CFVY's away mission took longer than expected, so they asked Yang and I to continue where they left off." Weiss explained.

"Now we can make sure you have the perfect night." Yang added

"And once it's all over, we can return to our search, rested and ready." Weiss continued.

"So, what do you think?" Ruby asked Blake, only for her to frown and walk for the door.

"I think this is a colossal waste of time. I'll be in the library."

As she left, the group looked down at the floor in defeat. "She can't keep going on like this." Weiss said, before they heard knocking on the door.

Weiss walked over to the door and opened it, only to hear the strumming of a guitar and to see… Jaune.

"WEEEEIIIIISSSS!…" He sang, ignoring the light sound of Jacob and Ezio snickering in the background.

Of course, Weiss slammed the door in his face, facepalming. Jaune knocked on the door again. "Oh come on! Open the door! I promise not to sing!"

Weiss sighed at the last part and opened the door again. "I LIIIIIIIEEED!" Jaune sang, strumming his guitar.

"Weiss Schnee, will you accompany meeee, to the daaaaance on…. SUNDAAAAYYYY?" Jaune sang.

"Are you done?" Weiss asked once he finished.

"Y-yes?"

"No." Weiss said coldly, slamming the door in his face.

She turned behind her and saw Ruby and Yang giving her disapproving looks. "What?"

"And that is why they call you "the Ice Queen."

"All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name. Besides, I already have a couple of dates in mind!"

"Date or no date, none of this will matter if we can't convince Blake to go."

Outside, Jaune sighed and turned to his "wingmen." "Alright, what did I do wrong?"

Jacob just laughed at him heartily, but Ezio put a hand on his shoulder and said, "First of all, I don't think the guitar was necessary in the first place. Second of all, don't you think she's just not into you?"

Jaune scoffed. "Pshh! That's ridiculous! I really like her, you know? So could you give me some tips? I mean, you're such a hit with the girls!"

"Oh, you flatter me." Ezio said with a smile.

"Listen Jaune, the first thing I would do is just… talk to her. Tell her how you feel. If she doesn't seem right for you, then I know that there's plenty others out there."

"W-what? Nah! Honestly, who'd be into me? That's just silly." Jaune said.

Ezio stared at the boy with a questioning look. Everybody'd seen how Pyrrha acted around him, and it was just ridiculous as to how everybody in the damn school knew how she felt aside from Jaune himself. He didn't think he'd met a more dense man other than Connor.

"Jaune, just… show her how you feel. She'll warm up to you, I promise." Ezio said before leaving.

Jaune sighed, until he heard Pyrrha's voice. "Jaune, it's time for practice! C'mon, let's go!"

Jaune smiled. He always liked how Pyrrha was so nice to him. Huh. Was it possible that she?… NAH! Couldn't be! She's world famous! What did that make him in her eyes?

 **Some balcony, Beacon Academy**

Jaune felt the hard clang of metal clashing as he crossed swords with Altaïr. He swung to block each strike from the assassin, and he had to admit, he was doing much better than when he first came to Beacon.

Both fighters stood, their swords locked in place, both pushing against the other. Jaune smirked, but Altaïr's expression didn't change and he ducked and swung a sweeping kick at Jaune's leg, throwing him off-balance and letting Altaïr pin him down by the neck and hold his hidden blade to his throat.

Jaune tapped rapidly on the ground, signaling Altaïr to stop. Altaïr released his hold on him and held out a hand to pull him up. "You've done well, Jaune. Your swordplay has improved immensely."

"Thanks, couldn't have done it without both of you." Jaune said, earning smiles of pride from both Pyrrha and Altaïr.

"So, are you ready to move on to aura?" Pyrrha asked him.

Jaune paused for a minute and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Uhh… you know what? I think I'll skip aura for tonight. Might go on a jog or something."

"Come on, I know you get frustrated, but we must keep trying. I'm sure we'll discover your semblance any day now!" Pyrrha told him.

"N-no. It's not that… It's just… *sigh* It's dumb…" He said reluctantly.

Pyrrha placed her hand on his shoulder and spoke reassuringly. "Jaune, you know you can tell me."

"It's… Weiss." Jaune said.

"Oh… what about her?" Pyrrha asked him, concealing her true feelings.

"I asked her to the dance and she shot me down. Big surprise, right?" Jaune said with a sarcastic chuckle.

"Well… I believe as the saying goes, "there's plenty of fish in the sea".

"Oh, that's easy for you to say, you've probably got guys clamoring over each other just to ask you out!" Jaune replied, receiving a light chuckle from Pyrrha.

"You'd be surprised…"

"Oh, please, if you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress!" Jaune said on his way out the door, leaving Pyrrha alone with Altaïr.

"Pyrrha, I know how you feel about him." He said.

"Huh?"

"From the way you look at him and act around him, it becomes obvious. Why don't you just tell him?" Altaïr asked the redhead.

Pyrrha gave no answer, as she couldn't give one. After a long silence, she said, "I've lived my whole life above everybody else, that to finally meet someone who cares for me as a friend, I don't know how to tell him without intimidating him."

Altaïr sighed and before he climbed down to his dorm through the window he told her, "Fine, I'll leave you be, but remember this… it's best to make the first move before you lose the chance. Good night, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha stood, awestruck by his words and turned to leave for her own dorm. "Good night, Altaïr."

 **Meanwhile…**

"And finally, Pyrrha Nikos."

"Ah, the Invincible Girl." Cinder noted.

"She's smart, but I wouldn't say invincible." Mercury added.

"Do tell…" Cinder responded, her hand weaving a black dress with a thin needle.

"Her semblance is polarity, but you'd never know it just by watching." Emerald informed them.

"After she made contact with my boots, she was able to move them around however she wanted. But she only made slight adjustments." Mercury said.

"Just enough to make it look like she's untouchable. She doesn't broadcast her powers, so it puts her opponents at a disadvantage." Emerald added, causing Cinder to scratch her chin curiously.

"Hmm… people assume she's fated for victory, when she's really taken fate into her own hands. Interesting… Add her to the list." Cinder instructed Emerald, who made adjustments on her scroll.

"Well, you should be able to take her out no problem." Mercury noted to Cinder.

"It isn't about overpowering the enemy. It's about taking what power they have. Leaving them with nothing left to fight with, no faith or bedrock left to stand on." Cinder told Mercury.

"And we will… in time." Cinder continued.

"Uggghhhh…. Tiiiimmme….." Mercury groaned, plopping his head down on his pillow.

"Oh, don't worry Mercury. We still have a fun weekend ahead of us." Cinder said, her golden eyes glowing with sinister anticipation.

 **Ballroom, Beacon, the next day…**

Ruby sat in the ballroom as her sister and Weiss waltzed around the room, getting the place ready for the dance this weekend.

The staff at Beacon had asked her team to take over Team CFVY's role in getting the school dance ready, but Blake wasn't very enthusiastic about helping out and Ruby had to admit, she'd prefer to leave it to the professionals. So naturally, Weiss and Yang were left to organize the event. Team ACEE and JAAE had even kindly stopped by and offered to help.

Just as Ruby was about to doze off, Arno slammed his hands onto the desk, jerking Ruby back to reality. "Which tablecloth looks better? No pressure, Ruby." He said, holding out two pieces of cloth for her to pick.

One of them was a dark shade of gray, and the other one was… pretty much the same. "Aren't they both the same?" Ruby asked in confusion.

"Oh, they're different! Look at how one shade is slightly lighter?" Arno said, trying to explain.

"Uhhh… no?" Ruby said, still confused.

Arno sighed. "You know what, never mind, Ruby. See ya."

Ruby waved to him, before Yang and Adéwalé came in, hauling large speakers on their shoulders, plopping them down on the ground with a loud bang.

On the stage, Ezio was plugging in the sound system, and testing the mics. Edward was trying out his new guitar, trying out a few chords and riffs.

"So, you picked out a dress yet?" Yang asked her sister, who sank lower to the table with a dejected look on her face.

"What's the point? Who cares about the dance when Blake isn't even going?"

"Oh, she's going." Yang replied with a confident smirk, only to frown when she looked to her left.

"Weiss! I thought we agreed! No doilies!"

Weiss then jabbed a finger to the blonde's chest. "If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!"

But then, they heard the door open, and turned to see Neptune and Sun entering the room. "Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked.

Weiss opened her mouth to respond, but Edward stepped in. "Oh, it's for the stage. The boys and I are gonna be playing for the night. It's gonna to be off. The. Hook."

"Niiice!" Neptune said, patting him on the back.

"So, you ladies and gentlemen excited to play dress-up?" Sun asked them.

"Pfft! Yeah, right." Ruby scoffed.

"Oh, laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night." Yang said confidently.

"Oh, I'm counting on that…" Edward said slyly, subtly grasping Yang by the hip and trailing his fingers sideways to the other, causing her to return his expression.

"What'll you be wearing, Sun?" Arno asked him.

"Uhhh, this?" Sun answered him, gesturing to the shirt he was wearing.

"Ignore him, for he knows not what he says." Neptune said.

"Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo! It's not exactly a "shirt and tie" kind of place." Sun said.

"Yeah, that's pretty obvious." Weiss noted blankly.

"So, what does Blake think of all this? She still being all… you know, Blake-y?" Sun asked.

"I'm afraid so. She won't even speak to me about it." Connor said.

"I still can't think of a way to change her mind." Ruby said melancholically.

But Yang stood up with a determined smirk. "Guys, trust me. Blake _will_ be at the dance tomorrow."

 **Library, Beacon Academy**

Blake was typing furiously on her computer, her bloodshot eyes struggling to stay open, but nonetheless, she kept working. She knew her team and friends told her to take it easy, but how could they possibly say that when people are dying?!

But then Blake spotted something that caught her eye and made her take her fingers off of the keyboard. A bright red dot, zipping across her monitor. Her eyes didn't waver and followed the bright light as it went down to rest on her hand. Slapping it away, she continued to work, unwilling to let a stupid prank distract her.

But as she continued to type, the red dot turned up again, and this time, Blake gritted her teeth and got up from her chair to confront whoever was messing with her, but saw the dot in front of her feet, trailing backwards.

Sighing to herself, Blake followed, until she bumped into Yang, holding a laser pen, with Edward looking up from his book to meet her eye.

"Hello!" Yang greeted her partner in the same bubbly voice as she first introduced herself on day one.

"Yang? Edward? What're y-" Blake asked, frustrated.

"We need to talk, lass. In private." He said to her, grabbing her by the wrist and whisking her away with him and Yang.

 **Up Next: SCHOOL DANCE!**

 **Hey, guys! I know this one kinda breaks the formula of one episode per chapter, but I thought you guys would like a little extension this week! So next, I'm planning to reveal a bit about Edward and how he got in with the Assassins, but OH MY GOD, DID YOU SEE WEISS' CHARACTER SHORT?! IT WAS LIKE (section removed for excessive fanboying and spoilers) Sorry! But if you guys haven't seen the Vol. 5 short, then I'd recommend you guys check it out right away. In other news, CHIBI QROW IS HERE! YES! Anyways, I'm gonna work more, and hopefully, we can see the end of Vol. 2 in less than a month if I'm up for it. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this one, please leave a review (PLEEEASE?) and I'll see you next time! BYE-BYE!**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: *** **Daddy fists** *****

 **ENDDRAGON369: I know what DLC means. Are you talking about the assassins going on some mission to kill someone? Because if that's the case, hopefully I can think of something during the "Mountain Glenn" Arc.**

 **Emiliano733: Thanks! I hope I can put those upgrades to good use someday, maybe even get some for the other guys. I'm also glad that my changes for Jack made him that much more interesting. There's a reason he's that way, and I'll show you all in time.**

 **Guest: Yeah, thanks! I'd imagine Starrick is indeed corrupt, even more than Jacques, and is definitely not a good person, but he doesn't serve Salem's cause and works to his own ends, as well as the Templar's code of peace through control.**


	20. Shut Up and Dance with Me

**Team JNPR's Dorm**

Ren exited the shower wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, sighing contently while holding a shampoo bottle.

While walking to get his clothes, suddenly Jaune appeared, grabbing him by the wrist. "We need to talk."

Sitting down on his bed with an awkward Ren, Jaune sighed. "Ren, I'm just gonna come out and say it. You are one of my best friends. These past few months, I feel like we've really bonded, even though… you don't say much. I mean, you're _very_ quiet… but darn it, I consider you to be the brother I never had!"

Ren sighed with a sympathetic smile. "And I, you."

"Which is why I wanted to ask for your advice on…. girls…" Jaune said.

"Girls?"

"I just… I don't know… how to…. Girls. Um, I guess what I'm trying to ask you is… how'd you and Nora…?" Jaune asked him, earning an awkward stutter from the Mistralese boy before embarrassed giggles from Nora, who wore a black shirt bearing her stylized catchphrase.

"Ehehehe… we're not actually… "together"…. together…"

"NORA, I SAID HEADPHONES ON!" Jaune barked at the ginger, causing her to quickly follow her leader's instruction.

"Jaune…. What is this really about?" Ren asked the blonde.

Jaune sighed and let it out. "It's Weiss. She's cold, but she's also… incredible. She's smart, and graceful, and talented, I mean, have you heard her sing?!"

"I'd just wish she'd take me seriously, y'know? I wish I could just tell her how I feel without… messing it all up." Jaune explained, before hearing a voice at the door.

"Then do it."

"Uh, wha-" Jaune turned to see Pyrrha standing there, her eyes twinkling with contempt.

"Tell her exactly what you just said. No ridiculous schemes, no pick-up lines. Just be honest." Pyrrha told him, seeing his brow quirk.

"Jaune, you can't get it wrong if it's the truth." She reassuringly told him, causing Jaune's face to beam in newfound confidence.

"You're right. Thanks Pyrrha. Good talk, Ren!" Jaune said, exiting the room.

But as he left, Nora noticed Pyrrha's sullen expression and sighed. "Practice what you preach, Pyrrha…"

 **History Classroom, Beacon**

"Yang, Edward, if you're gonna tell me to stop, you both might as well just save your breath." Blake insisted, pacing back and forth with baggy eyes.

"We don't want you to stop. We just want you to slow down." Edward replied, kicking his feet up in Oobleck's swivel chair.

"We don't have the luxury to slow down." Blake coldly objected.

"It's not a luxury. It's a necessity." Yang added, sitting down with crossed legs atop the teacher's desk.

"The necessity is stopping Torchwick!" Blake barked with narrow eyes.

"And we will. But first I need you to sit down and listen to a story I have to tell." Edward said, rolling the chair Blake's way.

Blake sighed and reluctantly took a seat, waiting for Edward to begin.

"I know you had a rough past, but did you have family?" Edward asked her.

"Y-yeah?" Blake answered, confused.

"I… never knew my real parents. Must've sold me to some orphanage out of desperation. All my life I remembered growing up on Nassau." Edward began.

"Wait… Nassau? As in the Pirate Island?" Blake asked Edward.

"Yes. I was never taken home, so I did what I was taught to: survive. Take from others so that I could live another day. Living amongst raiders and criminals made sure my conscience was clear. One thing was prized above all there. Money. Riches. Fortunes of all sorts. No matter how feral you might seem, all that would matter is your bounty."

Edward clenched his jaw in recollection, as both girls watched, captivated.

"One day, I was sailing with my crew, and I receive word of a naval contract. 10,000 lien to bring down one ship. With that much on the line for what seemed to be so little, I rushed to find my quarry. It must've been days. My crew was running short on food and water, and I could barely keep my eyes open. I didn't care, though. All that mattered was the money I would get."

Yang's eyes widened. Hearing Edward's story almost reminded her of a harrowing experience she had in her childhood.

"Then, after days of searching, I hear yelling. A ship off the starboard bow. By now, I was hungry and tired, but I was so happy to finally find it. But this was no ordinary ship. One look was all you needed."

"The ship was huge. Heavily armored and lined to the teeth with guns and cannons. Moved with unbelievable speed. But the most eerie thing… nobody was aboard. A ship like that and not a single soul was on deck. My crew were scared shitless, but nonetheless, I barged forth. We were shredded. It was terrible. We had so much shots blown into us that it was a sheer miracle we hadn't sunk."

"We barely escaped the battle. Half our crew was dead, my ship was blown to kingdom come, and I came home empty-handed. When we came back, my crew left me. They were so tired and so angry that I put so little concern for them, and I was left with nothing. But I soon received a higher calling, one that put me where I am now. Where I could learn the value of freedom and compassion. The Brotherhood gave me a second chance, and for once, a family."

Yang then spoke up. "Wait… so you're basically a criminal? A killer?"

Edward sighed. "Technically speaking, yes I was. There's no place in Nassau for the weak of heart. I lived the way I was told to, and honestly speaking, I would be lying to say I hated the man I was then."

Blake sighed and stood up. "Edward… I'm sorry about what happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but I'm not a child, and this isn't just for myself or for redemption! I CAN'T JUST-"

Edward then clenched his teeth and pounded his fist on the board. "I TOLD YOU. We're not telling you to stop. To this day, I still want that dream of fortune. To get even and to make things right, so… maybe my parents could come back. So that they could see me now and that I could make things better. But I'm not going to kill myself just for a few extra coins, and besides, my parents are long gone, and no matter how much I want to see them again, I just can't. It just isn't worth it, don't you get it?!"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO THIS!" Blake snapped stubbornly.

"NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Yang threw back at her with red eyes.

"If Roman Torchwick walked through that door, what would you do?!" Yang angrily asked her partner.

"I'd fight him!"

"You'd lose!" Yang rebutted, shoving Blake, who was too weak to resist.

"I'd stop him!" Blake insisted, weakly throwing a fist at her, only for Edward to grab it with little effort.

"You can't even stop us!" Edward angrily replied, pushing her down to the desk.

Yang stepped forward, and much to Blake's surprise, hugged her gently. "I'm not asking you to stop. Just please… get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about." Yang let go of her and walked toward the door.

"But… of you feel like coming out tomorrow, I'll save you a dance." Yang turned before she left, winking at her partner.

Edward then caught up with Yang outside. "Does this mean I'm still your date to the dance?"

Yang scoffed as both of them walked down the hallway. "What? Jealous?"

Edward laughed heartily. "Not until I finally sober up, lass."

 **Later that night…**

Jaune eagerly walked through the hallways, holding a white flower in his hand. After much doubt, he was finally going to tell Weiss how he felt.

Jaune took a deep breath and puffed up his chest with confidence, as Ezio told him. But then he heard Weiss' voice call out. Good! Now all he had to do w-

"Neptune!"

Wait… what?

Jaune quickly hid behind the corner to see the blue-haired boy and Weiss talking to each other.

"Oh, hey! What's up?"

"I know this is a little… unorthodox, but… would you like to accompany me to the dance tomorrow?" Weiss asked him.

Jaune didn't stay behind to hear the rest. He walked away with a dejected look on his face and dropped his flower. What was the point in trying if she was already into someone else?

 **Ballroom, Beacon, the next night…**

"Oh! You look beautiful!" Yang squealed as she saw her sister enter the ballroom in her dress.

Ruby stammered and stepped awkwardly, trying desperately not to fall over in her heels. "C-can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?!"

Yang giggled as she watched her sister struggle to walk around uncomfortably. Behind her, the party was just starting, with students coming in two by two. Altaïr was already there, but naturally, he came alone, and was playing the violin onstage.

Edward was there too, setting things up backstage with Jacob and Arno, dressed his best, but without bothering to clean up his messy hair. Jacob wore a neat suit and combed his hair back, and Arno did the same, his ponytail hanging loose from his scalp.

Weiss was making final touches to the decorations with Ezio and Evie's help, like placing new flowers in the vases and fixing the lights.

Outside, Sun was fiddling with his tie, walking with Connor, who was dressed in formal wear, while Sun was simply dressed in a dark gray-colored version of his usual shirt.

"Grr… Stupid… neck trap!" Sun grumbled as he fiddled with his tie.

"How are you so cool wearing that?" Sun asked Connor, who didn't seem to mind his suit.

"Given my father's position and standards, formal wear grew less bothersome over time." Connor informed him, causing him to groan.

"I always knew you looked better with a tie." Both faunus turned behind them to see Blake, dressed in a beautiful black dress, her bow sitting atop her head.

Connor nudged Sun with a smile, knocking him out of his trance, cueing him to link arms with Blake. "So… does this mean we're going… together?"

"Technically, although my first dance is spoken for." Blake answered him, as the three of them walked to the dance.

Inside the ballroom, the party was in full swing, with all the students laughing, having fun and dancing with their dates. Yang waltzed with Blake, before letting Sun take over.

Ruby, Weiss and Yang looked at the scene in front of them, hearing Blake laugh with a smile on her face as she danced with Sun.

"Told you she would come." Yang said to her team.

"Mission accomplished." Weiss added.

"So… what now?" Ruby asked her teammates.

"Just have fun!" Yang said, before running off to the front of the room to greet the students, while Weiss went off as well, leaving Ruby confused.

"Does that mean I can change out of these stupid things and back into my hood now? Grr… Stupid… lady stilts!" Ruby grumbled.

"Not enjoying yourself?"

Ruby turned to see Professor Ozpin giving her a kind grin. "Oh! No! Everything's fine! I'm just not much of a dansey… pansy... dancy kinda girl."

"Well, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield, even if you might want to." Ozpin told her.

"Yeah, that lesson's been floating around a lot lately."

"You know, if you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different. Two partners interlocked, moving in sync with each other." Ozpin said.

Ruby followed his eye to spot Edward waltzing with Yang, both of them moving gracefully with each other. Neither of their gazes left each other's, and even caught glances of both envy and wonder from the other students.

"Thanks for helping me back there with Blake." Yang said to Edward.

"Don't mention it. Friends help each other out." Edward said, smiling.

"You know, after all this time at Beacon, you've never asked me out. Why?" Yang asked her fellow blonde.

"Because a dancing pirate needs his time. And besides, what's in it for me?" Edward joked, causing Yang to giggle.

"Oh, my rewards are a bit more… creative." Yang said, increasing the tension between them, leading Edward to adjust his hold on her so that he was grasping her by the hips.

"Although, one wrong move on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot." Ozpin continued.

"Or a twisted ankle…" Ruby added.

"It's not every day friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that we can keep them stronger than ever. And that's why it's nights like these we'll never forget."

Ruby's gaze turned to and fro across the room. She saw Ezio offer a hand to Weiss, which she took with a blush, as both of them began to dance.

"Enjoying your night, _signora_?" Ezio asked her with a warm smile.

"Y-yeah. Just… don't get ahead of yourself!" Weiss said amid her blush, in typical tsundere fashion.

Ezio chuckled and continued to dance with her. "I thought you wanted to go with Neptune. Didn't you ask him?"

"I-I did. It just… didn't work out." Weiss said, her face drooping slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Then I take it I was just your backup plan?" Ezio joked.

Weiss opened her mouth to angrily retort, but stopped herself and smiled. "No. You're a keeper."

Ezio smiled. He was going to remember this night as he continued to dance with Weiss.

Connor simply sat in the corner, fiddling awkwardly, until Aveline walked by and offered him a dance. Blake noticed this and smiled at her childhood friend, reassuring him as he took her hand.

"I hope there's no hard feelings, by the way." Aveline told him.

"What do you mean?" Connor asked her.

"Well, since you're always with Blake I thought that since she's going out with Sun, then…"

Connor stopped her. "Blake is a dear friend, and I would want nothing but the best for her. But she needs this night, as does he."

Jacob managed to get a few dances, but he didn't come with a date, as did Arno. Adé didn't have a date and simply served as the honorary DJ. Evie didn't come with a date either, and helped out onstage, singing a few songs with the band.

Port chatted with Oobleck, and Ironwood offered Glynda a hand, asking her to dance. With a reluctant sigh, she took his hand and walked with him. Ezio sat down with Weiss, Yang and Edward, chatting the night away. But Ruby merely stood behind the punch bowl, holding a glass in the corner with Jaune.

"I see you're hiding in the punch bowl, too." Jaune said to Ruby.

"Yup." Ruby replied with an indifferent expression.

"To the socially awkward." Jaune tilted his glass in Ruby's direction, cueing her to clink glasses with him with a giggle.

"Sorry that things didn't work out with Weiss." Ruby told Jaune with sympathy.

"Nah, it's fine. Neptune's pretty cool. I get why she went with him." Jaune said

"Wait, what're you talking about?" Ruby asked him, her eyebrow cocked in confusion.

"Well come on, not many people can pull off blue hair, am I right?" Jaune said sarcastically, trying to hide his envy.

"No. I mean, Weiss came to the dance… with Ezio."

Upon hearing that, Jaune nearly choked on his punch. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, he asked her just this afternoon." Ruby told him.

Jaune looked ahead at the dance floor to see Weiss chatting with Ezio, Yang and Edward, laughing along with them. On the other side of the room, he saw Neptune joking with Blake, Sun and Jacob.

Jaune frowned. Something was off, and he was getting to the bottom of it. "Hold my punch."

 **Next Up: The moment of truth!**

 **Hey, guys! I know this one's a bit shorter than the rest, but since the first parts of this episode were cut off for the last one, I hope that what I've planned for the next one will be worth the wait. School starts in less than a week and I'm gonna start working a little less frequently, but I'll try so that I can finish up Vol. 4 by the end of the year, maybe less. So anyway, please leave reviews, because I love hearing what you guys think or what you want! It helps me to think of new scenarios and new ideas! I hope you liked this chapter and I'll see you… next time! BYE-BYE!**

 **merendinoemiliano: Yeah, I use my gmail, so I dunno how to fix that. I'm really glad you like it, and I dunno if I'll spare Pyrrha or not.**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: Yeah, I would have noticed if it played on EVERY SCENE WITH QROW IN IT.**

 **ShadowLurking: Yeah, mostly because I've had nothing better to do lately. I'm just waiting at home for school to start again at this point.**


	21. Back Before Midnight

**Disclaimer:** _ **Shine**_ **was composed by Jeff Williams and performed by Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams. Prepare for cheese.**

 **(FWI, for songs:)**

 _ **Shine: Male**_

 _Shine: Female_

 _ **Shine: Male x Female**_

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **Ballroom, Beacon**

Jaune wove his way through the crowd of students, trying to get to Neptune. The night before, he saw himself that Weiss had asked him to the dance, and seeing as to how Weiss came to him first, Jaune knew he must have turned her down.

Jaune walked towards him, eager for answers, until Pyrrha walked past him. Jaune stopped and looked her way. She walked slowly, with a hunched back. Jaune hadn't seen Pyrrha with a more miserable look on her face before.

Curious, he followed her to the balcony, where she gazed over the view of the campus with a melancholic look on her face. Taking a deep breath, he called out to her. "Hey, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha turned around to see Jaune, and returned his greeting. "Hello, Jaune."

"A-are you okay? I hadn't seen you tonight." Jaune asked his partner.

"Arrived late, I'm afraid." Pyrrha answered him, turning to rest her hands atop the balcony.

"W-well, you look very nice." Jaune said, gesturing to the beautiful dress she wore, exposing her bare back and colored a rich crimson matching her hair.

"Thank you…" Pyrrha said, feeling her heart flutter slightly as he complimented her.

"Your… date isn't gonna beat me up for saying that, is he?" Jaune asked her.

"I… think you're safe for tonight." Pyrrha said, her face not changing.

"So… where is the guy?" Jaune asked, looking left and right.

Pyrrha finally sighed and told him, "There is no 'guy'."

Jaune stood in surprise at her answer. "W-what?"

"Nobody asked me."

Jaune was at loss for words. How on Remnant could someone as popular as her show up alone? "B-but that's- you're Pyrrha Nikos! How could nobody ask you?!"

Pyrrha sighed and let it out. "I've been blessed… with incredible talents and opportunities. I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise…. But when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people who put you there in the first place."

"Everyone assumes that I'm too good for them, that I'm on a level they simply can't attain. It's been impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationship with anyone!" Pyrrha practically yelled out, Jaune listening, almost connecting the dots.

Pyrrha then turned to look him in the eye. "That's what I like about you."

Wait… what?

"When we met, you didn't even know my name! You treated me just like everybody else. And thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. I guess… you were the kind of guy I wish I was here with. Someone who just saw me for me." Pyrrha turned to leave, leaving a stunned Jaune standing there. Once Jaune turned to say something to Pyrrha, she was already gone, and a different person was at the doorway.

"Hey, uh- Jaune, right?" Neptune asked him.

Jaune sighed. "Yeah."

"This party's pretty lame, huh? I mean, ballroom dancing! Pfft…" Neptune said.

"Yeah." Jaune said, keeping his emotions in check.

"Cute girls though, huh?" Neptune asked him, but that was the last straw for Jaune.

"Is that all you think about?" Jaune angrily asked him.

"Huh?"

"Do you even care about the girls you're hitting on? How they feel about you?!" Jaune asked him.

"Whoa! Where's all this coming from?" Neptune asked, confused.

"How could you just turn her down like that?" Jaune asked him.

"Who?"

"Weiss!"

Neptune's eyes widened, then his face began to shrink as he stuttered awkwardly. "I- uh… It- err… It just… I-it just didn't work out, you know?"

"What? You think you're too cool?! Too many other 'options?' Weiss Schnee asked you to the dance. What in the world could possibly keep y-"

"I can't dance!"

Jaune blinked once. "Beg your pardon?"

"I can't dance, man!" Neptune said, his voice cracking as he turned his head in embarrassment.

Jaune was at a loss for words when he heard this. "B-but you're… so cool…"

"Thank you. I try really hard." Neptune said.

"So… you'd rather break a girl's heart and go to a dance alone rather than admit to everyone that you can't move in rhythm to music?" Jaune asked him.

"That… pretty much sums it up, yeah." Neptune answered him.

"Well, I certainly feel a lot better about myself." Jaune said sarcastically.

"Please don't tell anyone. Look, if you want Weiss, she's all yours. I don't wanna get in your way." Neptune pleaded to Jaune.

"Well, she's already got a date, so I guess not." Jaune told him.

"Oh… major bummer then."

Jaune sighed and turned to look at the young man, leaning against the balcony. "Do you like her?"

"Well… I don't know her that well, but she seems pretty cool."

"Then just… talk to her, man. No pickup lines, no suave moves, just be yourself. I've heard that's the way to go. I've come to know her date's a pretty cool guy. I'm sure he'll understand." Jaune told him, remembering what Pyrrha and Ezio had told him the past few days.

Neptune raised his finger to protest, but Jaune stopped him. "Hey, you don't have to be cool all the time! In all honesty, if you were a little less cool, I'd really appreciate it. Go talk to her, man. I'm sure it'll make her night."

"Thanks. You're a pretty cool guy, Jaune." Neptune said as he moved forward to hug him.

"Alright, don't lie to my face." Jaune joked as he returned Neptune's gesture.

But as Neptune turned to leave, Jaune stopped him. "Wait."

"Yeah?"

"By the way, if you're still looking for a date, try looking for Evie Frye down there. I'm sure she'll like an "intellectual" like yourself." Jaune told him.

"Alright, I will. Thanks, Jaune." Neptune said as he re-entered the ballroom.

Jaune sighed deeply and put on a determined smirk on his face. "Alright, now only one thing left to do."

Jaune re-entered the ballroom, his eyes scanning the room and looking for a certain person. Then he found his target and tapped him on the shoulder, getting his attention.

"Jaune?"

"Hey, Ezio." Jaune greeted the assassin.

"Is this about Weiss?" Ezio asked him, aware of the fact that he took her out despite Jaune's crush on her.

Jaune shook his head. "No, it isn't that. I messed up. I should've known about Pyrrha."

"Wait, you just realized that?" Ezio asked him.

"Huh?"

"Jaune, the entire school's known for quite a while!" Ezio told Jaune.

"Wait, what?" Jaune asked him.

"Throughout the years, I've come to tell whether a woman likes you or not, and Pyrrha could not have been more obvious. The strangest part was how you were completely oblivious."

Jaune laughed embarrassedly, with cheeks flushed red. "Y-yeah… by the way, when're you guys playing?"

"We're about to get ready now, actually." Ezio answered him.

"Good. If you don't mind, I have a request for you guys."

"I'm all ears." Ezio said as he leaned in closer.

"I need you to…" Jaune began as he whispered the rest in Ezio's ear. His grin grew as he heard the rest.

"I have to say, I love your style! Come, let's get started!" Ezio said as he ran off, dragging Jaune with him.

 **Meanwhile…**

"Y'know, I think we really needed this." Yang said to her sister.

The two of them stood on the second floor, overlooking the scene of the party. Blake and Sun were dancing with one another, Ren and Nora doing the same, although Nora was a bit clumsier than her partner. They even caught sight of Penny dancing by herself in the corner with Leonardo watching from a table, drinking from a cup.

Up onstage, Teams ACEE and JAAE were playing "Not Fall in Love With You", a personal favorite of Sun's. Edward was on guitar, Connor on drums and percussion, Altaïr on his violin, Arno played the keyboard, Jacob on bass, Adéwalé behind the DJ's table and Ezio singing male vocals.

Ruby looked down and smiled. "Yeah, and you did a great job planning it, too." Ruby agreed.

"Aww, thanks!' Yang squealed, bringing Ruby in for a bone-crushing hug, much to her discomfort.

"It wasn't all me, though. Weiss did a lot, as well as the boys." Yang said, looking down to see Weiss seated by herself, until Neptune walked past and began to talk to her. A smile formed on the heiress' face as she offered him a seat next to her.

But then, Yang sighed. "Tomorrow, it's back to work, y'know?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure we can handle whatever gets thrown at us!" Ruby said confidently.

Then, they heard Evie's voice rise from the stage as the music stopped. "Everybody enjoying their night so far? Now, before we begin the next song, we would like to welcome a very special guest to sing with us!"

With that, someone else came up with a microphone in his hand. As the snickers and loud laughing of students rose, Pyrrha turned her head to the stage, and could not believe her eyes when she saw it.

Onstage was none other than Jaune Arc in a DRESS. Bringing the microphone to his lips, he began to speak. "Yesterday, I promised a friend that if she came to the dance alone, I would wear… this thing."

The audience laughed, as well as Pyrrha, whose face was turning as red as her hair.

Jaune smiled and continued. "Well, an Arc never goes back on his word, so a promise is a promise. This next song's for you. Hope you like it!"

The applause died down as the entire crowd had their eyes onstage, either trying to hold in their laughter or bringing out their scrolls to take videos. Then Evie began singing.

 _Baby! It's time to make up your mi-i-i-i-ind_

 _I think! That tonight is when our stars ali-i-i-i-ign_

 _Honey! It's time to leave the doubt behi-i-i-i-ind_

 _Take my hand, 'cause you and I are gonna shi-i-i-i-ine_

Arno played the synth on his keyboard, and when it was time for the first verse, Evie left the stage, and Jaune put the mic to his lips and opened his mouth to sing.

 _ **I was cold in the dark, it was empty in my life**_

Everyone stared bewildered at the scene before them. Jaune's voice hit every note and didn't waver or crack in the slightest. His voice brimmed with emotion and his chest raised with confidence. He. Was. _Singing_.

 _ **From the outside, it looked so bright, but nothing felt bright to me**_

Pyrrha stood, unable to think of anything else than what was right in front of her. He had done this for her. Did he finally figure it out? She looked into his eyes, seeing how every word he sang had genuine emotion and meaning poured into his voice. She didn't see the bumbling, adorkable boy from day one. This was a new man, someone who found the answer and wanted to shout if out to the world.

 _ **Like a sky with no sun, like a night that has no day,**_

But then, Pyrrha felt someone tap her side, jerking her from her trance. She saw Evie, holding out a microphone to her with a smile on her face. Pyrrha stared wide-eyed. They planned this for her? "Give them a good duet, will you?" Evie asked her.

 _ **My heart was eclipsed by the dark, then something changed**_

As he finished the verse, Jaune took a deep breath to continue, but as he was about to sing, he heard a second voice play on the speakers. Pyrrha walked towards the stage, holding the microphone with both hands.

 _I saw a little ray of light come through,_

 _The tiniest of sparks came into view_

Jaune smiled with flushed cheeks and sang the next part with Pyrrha, harmonizing with her as he walked closer to her in front of the large crowd watching.

 _ **And then, you made me hope again…**_

As the interlude played, Jaune held out his hand to Pyrrha, which she took with the widest grin. Ren and Nora watched, Nora barely able to contain herself from screaming out in joy, while her partner met Jaune's eye, and gave a simple nod and a thumbs-up.

As Jaune danced with Pyrrha, she asked him, "How in the world did you learn to sing like that?"

"I guess it comes pretty naturally growing up with seven sisters." Jaune replied with a shrug as he raised the mic to his mouth to sing the second verse.

 _ **I've been watching you, helping you, wishing that you'd see**_

Pyrrha giggled and brought up her own microphone to sing as well.

 _That the girl you've been waiting so long for could be me_

 _ **Now, I've never been in love, but I think this is it**_

 _It might seem like a schoolgirl crush, but I have to admit,_

The two of them moved in rhythm to the music and sang their heart and soul out, weaving each of the lyrics with passion and emotion. Neither of their gazes left the other's amidst the cheering of the audience as they both continued to sing.

 _ **I wanna take a chance and make you see**_

 _ **I think that you're the one to rescue me**_

 _ **This time, you're finally gonna see you should be mine!**_

Then the chorus hit, and everyone was dancing, even Neptune who tried his damn hardest. The crowd went wild with movement and cheers as Jaune and Pyrrha sang the greatest they could tonight.

 _ **But baby! It's time to make up your mi-i-i-i-ind**_

 _ **I think! That tonight is when our stars ali-i-i-i-ign**_

 _ **Honey! Right now we leave the doubt behi-i-i-i-ind**_

 _ **Take my hand, 'cause you and I are gonna shi-i-i-i-ine!**_

In the seats at the far end of the room, Weiss and Neptune were chatting. "So… what made you change your mind?"

"Huh?" Neptune asked.

"You said you were embarrassed at first. What made you come talk to me?" Weiss asked him.

Neptune smiled and turned his head to the star couple of the evening. "You're looking at him."

Weiss looked with surprise at Jaune dancing in the center of the room, as happy as he could be. Neptune then turned to Ezio, onstage playing second guitar. He noticed Neptune sitting next to Weiss, but as their eyes met, Ezio merely grinned and nodded. Neptune smiled, knowing he would be able to live another day.

"You got some good friends looking out for you." Neptune told Weiss.

"And a cool date." Neptune added, causing Weiss to turn his way.

"He's lucky to have you, you know?" Neptune said before getting up to leave.

Walking through the crowd, he caught sight of a familiar young woman dressed in a red dress, her hair braided neatly. Curious, Neptune walked over to her.

"Uh, hey." Neptune awkwardly greeted her, causing her to turn to see him.

"Hi."

"I'm Neptune." He said.

"Evie. Enjoying your night?" She asked him, a small smile on her face.

"Y-yeah. It's just… I didn't have a date, and I noticed you were… um… am I bothering you?"

"No, I'd appreciate the company." Evie told him kindly, as she offered him a seat next to her.

 **Meanwhile…**

"It seems all the dancers have partners" Emerald noted, gazing down at the dance floor below them.

"How long do I have?" Cinder asked over the scroll.

"You should probably be home by midnight, just to be safe." Mercury told her.

"I'll keep my eye on the clock." Cinder said, hanging up. She then took a vial of glass dust from her pocket and used it to craft a mask over her face.

"You'd better. Security should be a bit tighter tonight." Jack's voice added from the scroll.

"I'll be fine." Cinder snarled.

"I wasn't talking about the grunts." Jack said, hanging up.

Meanwhile, inside the ballroom, Ruby decided to leave the scene of the party, away from the loud, bustling scene inside. As she stepped outside the building, she caught sight of a dark figure sprinting across the rooftops.

Cinder traversed the rooftops with ease, moving with finesse and speed with her skintight stealth suit. Ruby watched the unknown figure leap off a building, then frowned, determined to investigate.

 **Beacon Cross-Communications Tower, Vale**

Cinder hid behind a corner analyzing the scene to make her move. A lone guard stood outside the front door, keeping watch.

" _Too easy._ " Cinder thought to herself as she dashed for cover.

The guard's eye caught a quick blur, raising his gun. Moving forward slowly, trying to get his eye around the corner, he failed to notice Cinder right behind him. Without a sound, Cinder snuck up behind the soldier and quickly delivered a chop to the back of his head, knocking him out instantly. After incapacitating the guard, She then began pulling the unconscious man by his shoulders, moving to hide the body behind a bush.

Cinder then ran to the door and entered. Walking down the entrance hall, she entered the elevator room, where five soldiers stood, keeping guard. Nonetheless, she strode in, confident in her ability.

One soldier noticed Cinder enter the room and raised his hand, the other reaching for his pistol. "Excuse me? No one's allowed in this area. Stop!"

Cinder only smiled sinisterly, running at the guard. The soldier unholstered his pistol and opened fire, but Cinder easily evaded his shots and hooked his arm with hers, punching him across the face.

A second guard ran towards her yelling, carrying an energy blade, but Cinder drove a quick heel into his stomach, stunning the man. The soldier Cinder had grabbed tried to fire, but Cinder raised his arm, shooting the man and sending him tumbling across the floor.

Cinder then kicked the first guard in the shin, sending him on his knees, and then flipped him over her back, throwing him across the room.

The two remaining guards ran towards her, wielding their blades. Cinder's clothing then began to glow orange, glass blades forming at her hands. She swung both blades across one soldier's face, parrying his strike and slashing him in the face. Then she moved forward, slashing horizontally across the other soldier's stomach before sweeping him off the ground with a low kick.

Parrying another guard's strikes and blocking a kick, she returned with a quick elbow thrust to his back and a double-handed strike to his chest, pushing him back. As he was about to rise up, Cinder quickly delivered a flip kick to the back of his head, knocking him down.

The last soldier urgently reached for his comms as Cinder moved his way. "Commander! We have an intruder at the CCT!"

Cinder quickly silenced him with an arrow, hitting him straight in the neck and killing the man.

Putting away her weapons, she then moved to the elevator.

 **Outside…**

Outside the building, Ruby kept walking as she followed the mysterious figure. Tracing her target to the CCT, she walked toward the front entrance and gasped to see a soldier's body amongst the bushes, unconscious.

Ruby then hurriedly reached for her scroll and punched in numbers, cueing the loud woosh of a rocket. Just then, her locker flew down and drove itself into the stone path, opening to reveal Crescent Rose.

Looks like she would need to get her dress dirty tonight.

 **Communications Room, Beacon CCT**

Entering the room, Cinder walked over to the receptionist's desk, booting up the monitor. She then took out her scroll and plugged it into the computer, transferring data into the system.

But then, she heard Emerald's voice over her comms. " A party guest is leaving."

Cinder sighed. "Which one?"

"Ironwood." Emerald told her as she danced with Mercury.

"Looks like the General's had enough fun for tonight." Mercury added.

"Should we intervene?" Emerald asked her.

Cinder paused, and then the monitor flashed on with a white screen, before the image of a black queen chess piece popped up onscreen, the other terminals in the room mirroring the same image.

"No. We're done here." Cinder said with a smirk, turning to leave the building, until she heard the elevator coming back up.

Ruby exited the elevator, gripping her scythe with both hands. "Hello?"

Narrowing her eyes, she treaded cautiously, but growled as she stumbled over her heels, trying to keep her balance. "Is anyone there? Hello?"

Cinder hid behind the terminal silently, but realized she was not going to leave. Rising from her position with a grin, she turned to face the girl.

"Excuse me? You know, it's not a masquerade party, so why don't you take o-" Ruby began, only for Cinder to unclip a vial of glass dust from her hip, summoning a row of glass shards and throwing them towards Ruby.

Spinning her scythe in front of her, Ruby blocked the sudden attack, then proceeding to unload her clip on her. But Cinder easily blocked each round with her palm, then summoning her own blades.

Flipping her scythe behind her, Ruby fired, launching herself towards Cinder for a downwards slam, only for her to flip backwards, quickly drawing three arrows, aiming them at Ruby.

Ruby staggered backwards, dodging the blasts of flame, but tripped as she stumbled on her heels, using her scythe to support herself. Cinder grinned, but was caught off-guard when she heard the sound of glass shattering behind her.

Quickly turning behind her with her blades raised, she found herself locking blades with a somewhat older man. He wore a reinforced military overcoat over a white shirt with a dark cape over his shoulders. His arms were protected with vambraces, and he gripped his single-edged sabre with control and strength. His most signifying feature however, was the tri-cone he wore on his head.

Narrowing her eyes at the Commander, she advanced with both blades at the ready. Haytham merely stood still, his eyes unwavering. Thrusting quickly, Cinder spun to avoid his attack, swinging her blades for his neck, but Haytham raised his arm to block her hit, and rolled to avoid a kick for his chest.

Haytham rose back up on his feet and swung his sword downwards at Cinder with a single-handed grip, the woman easily blocking his strike, but as she slashed her second blade for his stomach, he used his bracer arm to push her blade away, quickly spinning to hit her in the side.

Cinder quickly backed away with a frown and shot another barrage of arrows Haytham's way. The Commander easily blocked the attack, but the smoke cleared to reveal Cinder was missing. Haytham cursed under his breath and turned to Ruby.

"Go back to the party, child. You've earned a rest after that fight."

 **Meanwhile…**

Cinder rushed into a dark hallway, casting glyphs on her suit, altering its appearance rapidly, before entering the next room.

The soldiers barged in after her, but stood surprised as they entered the ballroom, the dance still in full swing.

Emerald and Mercury were still dancing with each other, until Emerald felt a tap on her shoulder, turning around to see Cinder dressed in a beautiful glittering black dress, her back exposed to reveal her tattoo.

"May I cut in?"

"Of course." Emerald said as she moved aside.

"And how's your night been?" Mercury asked Cinder as the two danced in each other's arms.

"Hmm, a little more… exciting than expected."

"Should we be worried?" Mercury asked her.

"Hardly. They'll be scratching their heads long after we finish what we came here for." Cinder replied, her eyes glowing with her grin.

"So what now?" Mercury asked her.

"Enjoy the rest of the night. After all, it is a party." Cinder replied, the party continuing into the night as the chimes of the twelfth hour rang from the clock tower.

 **Next Up: Missions, Mysteries and ZWEEEEIIII!**

 **Hey, guys! I found it pretty fun to write this one, and I really hoped you loved it! I'd always have this small headcanon of the assassins in a band, and that picture was in my head whenever I listened to the songs from the show! (LOL) ANYWAYS I'm gonna try something new for the mission arc. Coming up with targets for the assassins is hard, so I'd wanna hear your ideas! Give me an original character, it doesn't have to be too detailed but I wanna hear their moveset, gear, background, etc. I'd really appreciate that, and if you guys give me your ideas, I'll write my choices into the story! So please leave a review and I'll see you… next time! BYE-BYE!**

 **merendinoemiliano: Thank you! But let me ask you this: If Pyrrha lives, how does it change things in the story? But yeah, I lean more towards Rose Garden than Lancaster, and I REALLY hope it ends up being the first one.**

 **CHEEKI BREEKI: You have? COOL! Salutations, fellow Indonesian!**

 **thedarkwolf95: Yeah, but I wouldn't consider shipping Altaïr with Ruby. To me, she'd rather see him as either an older brother-type or a mentor. I'm still a bit unsure about Connor. (DON'T JUDGE ME, OKAY?) Blake sees Connor as basically a brother and one of her closest friends, but I wouldn't say if it were to progress into a romantic relationship or not. (Oh, btw, Connor has a daughter. HE HAS A DAUGHTER. Look it up.) (Btw, how is it unclear?)**

 **SW11037: HA LOL! That's just hilarious! That could work… or not. Maybe in a Chibiverse out there, it does happen.**

 **Jack905: Uhh… How, exactly?**

 **Guest: Thank you! What did you like about it?**


	22. Colors of War

**Headmaster's Office, Beacon Tower**

"They were here… Ozpin, they were here!" Ironwood said in frustration, pounding his clenched fist on Ozpin's desk.

Ozpin merely sat with an indifferent expression, but behind his eyes, he was just as concerned as the general. Haytham's report of an infiltrator in the CCT the night before was troubling news, and even more so was the fact that they had escaped without a clue to their identity.

Ozpin pressed his fingers to his temples and pondered in silence, trying to make something of the situation. Haytham merely listened from the corner of the room, standing straight with his hands behind his back, while Ironwood exchanged arguments with Glynda.

"Well, we're well aware of that, thank you very much, James." Glynda said with sarcasm.

"Fantastic. You're aware. Now, are we going to do something about it, or are we just going to stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?" James replied.

But then, they heard a beeping noise come from Ozpin's desk, signaling the arrival of a visitor. The elevator then opened, with Ruby Rose stepping out.

"Ah! Sorry to took so long. Someone accidentally hit all the buttons on the elevator on the way up here… it wasn't me."

Ozpin smiled warmly and was the first to greet the young huntress-in-training. "Thank you for coming, Ruby. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess. I'd feel better if my bad-guy catching record wasn't 0 for 3." Ruby said with a light chuckle, but she noticed the stern faces of the other people in the room, causing her face and voice to falter.

"O-okay, so that's the tone we're going with, got it…" She said meekly, her hand scratching the back of her head awkwardly.

Haytham then stepped forward and spoke. "Ruby, I feel it fair to tell you that what you did last night is exactly what being a huntress is all about. You recognized a threat, you took action, and you did the very best you could."

"Thank you, sir." Ruby said with a smile.

"Now, the commander here has already informed us of the events that… transpired last night. But now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add." Ozpin told her.

Ruby scoured through her brain for memories from the night before, and answered. "Well…I-I don't… really know. She wore a mask, and she didn't say anything to me, but I know she fought with glass. I don't think that was her semblance, though. Her clothing lit up whenever she attacked."

Glynda's brow rose slightly as she heard Ruby's testimony. "Hmm… glass aside, that sounds like the woman I met the night we met Ruby."

But Ironwood objected. "Weaving dust into clothing is an age-old technique, and it isn't exactly rare. It could've been anyone."

"Wait…" Ruby asked, raising her hand.

"Don't you think this girl might be related to Torchwick and the White Fang?"

"It could be possible, but we still lack the evidence to prove a connection between them." Haytham answered her.

"Actually… I think I remembered her saying something about a hideout in the southeast just outside the kingdom…" Ruby informed them, remembering the information she and her friends had collected during that investigation.

The group looked at one another, wondering what to make of this new information, and Ozpin smiled. "Interesting…"

Skeptical, Glynda asked Ruby, "W-wait… you said the intruder never s-"

But Ozpin quickly cut her off. "Thank you for sharing with us, Ruby. Why don't you head back and spend time with your team?"

"Sounds great!"

Before Ruby turned to leave, Ozpin called out to her one last time. "And Ms. Rose… please try to be… discrete about this matter."

Ruby then pinched two fingers together and drew them across her lips as if to say "My lips are sealed."

As she left, Ironwood began to speak. "It's decided, then. We send as many troops as we can to the southeast. Find out exactly what they're up to, and eliminate any forces in our way."

Glynda growled irately. "Ugh! Why does every move you make require a triumphant display of military bravado? You treat every situation as if it's a contest of measuring di-"

"Glynda!" Ozpin interrupted her before turning to the general.

"She's right. As much as I would love to end this problem once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale, beyond Beacon. And even if this truly is part of some master plan for which we know not the final move, we mustn't be so bold, nor can we risk the spread of panic."

The general sighed and turned to Ozpin. "I have served you faithfully for years. But if you mean to tell me that your plan is to merely hold the defenses and wait-"

"Boss!" Haytham called out rather loudly.

Ironwood turned to his lieutenant. In all his hears serving him, he had come to learn Haytham's judgment was as sharp as his swordsmanship, so he listened to what he had to say.

"He has a point. Think about it. When you prepare for battle, who do you send first? The flag-bearer or the scouts? Perhaps it's time we make use of certain… connections."

 **Team RWBY's Dorm**

Ruby opened her door to find her team right at the door, their faces lined with concern for their leader, as well as the members of Team ACEE.

"What happened?!" Yang asked her hurriedly.

"What did he tell you?" Ezio asked Ruby.

Ruby stammered awkwardly. "Well... I told them what we found out… sort of…"

"That was quite risky." Weiss said.

"Well… I think you made the right move." Blake added, supportively.

"I trust that they will know what to do." Connor added.

"I hope so…" Ruby replied, sullenly.

"I'm sure everything will be alright, Ruby." Ezio assured the girl.

But then, Yang perked up. "Oh! I know what'll cheer you up!"

Ruby then turned to see Yang grab a cylindrical tube from the desk on the side of the room. "What's that?" She asked her sister.

"I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us. I thought we could open it together." Yang answered her.

"Ooh! Something from home!" Ruby squealed as she dashed to swipe the tube from Yang's hands.

But then, Yang shook the tube, causing something to fall out. This black… thing wiggled on the floor like a worm for a second, before popping up on its feet.

The eight teens leaned in to get a closer look, to find a small corgi in front of them, barking excitedly.

"AAAAHHH! ZWEI!" Ruby squealed, scooping up the dog in her hands as he began licking her face affectionately.

"He sent a _dog_?!" Blake asked.

"In the _mail_?!" Weiss continued, both clearly confused as to how this was even physically possible.

"Oh, he does stuff like this all the time." Yang told them, acting as if shipping a dog in an enclosed tube halfway across the kingdom was normal and civil behavior.

"Your father or the dog?" Altaïr asked them skeptically.

"How is that even physically possible?" Connor asked, confused.

"So are you telling me that this mangy…" Weiss leaned in to get a closer look at the dog, but was slowly losing herself to the sheer cuteness.

"…drooling…" Zwei's eyes bore deeper into her soul, and Weiss could barely resist any longer, feeling herself submitting to the dog's adorability.

"…mutt… IS GONNA WIVE WITH US FOEVA? OH YES, HE IS, YES HE IS!" Weiss finished, finding herself gushing as she played with the corgi.

"Just… keep it away from my things." Blake said bluntly from Ruby's bunk, clearly not taking a liking to the dog.

But then, the gang heard Glynda's voice over the intercom. "Will all first year students please report to the amphitheater?"

"Well, you can't just leave him here while we're gone for a week." Edward told them, gesturing to Zwei, who seemed preoccupied with Blake, who was hissing and clawing at the dog from Ruby's bunk.

"Hey, there's a letter in there." Ezio noted, pointing at a piece of paper sticking out from the tube.

Yang pulled it out and read it. "Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang."

Yang held out the tube and shook it, causing cans of dog food to spill out into large pile on the floor.

"What is he supposed to do with all that?" Altaïr asked.

Yang then shook the tube one more time, a can opener tumbling onto the floor. "Welp, that settles it! C'mon, guys! Zwei will be here when we get back!"

The group then turned to leave, but Ruby looked at Zwei, gears in her head clicking and turning, until a light bulb formed above her head.

 **Assembly Hall, Beacon Academy**

Ruby entered the massive room with a backpack slung over her back. All around the room, hundreds of students were gathered, each wearing different uniforms signifying their respective academies. Ruby then set down her bag amidst the large pile, hoping nobody was going to notice the slight shaking of the bag.

She then joined her team, standing up with Teams JNPR, ACEE and JAAE along with the rest of the Vale student body.

Ozpin stepped up onstage in front of the massive crowd and began to deliver his speech.

"Together, we stand together, united." Ozpin began, his chest raised high with pride.

"Mistral…" Ozpin turned his head to the group of students at his far left, dressed in black and white jackets for their uniforms.

"Atlas…" Ozpin shifted his gaze to the group to the right of the Haven students. These students wore gray vests over long-sleeved shirts, carrying a more professional look with them, given the fact that the school in Atlas was also a government institution.

"Vacuo…" Ozpin turned to his right, gazing over a more casual bunch. The Shade students lacked a uniform, the students wearing mixed T-shirts, sweaters in a diverse collection.

"Vale…" Ozpin then turned to his own students, either dressed in black suits and jackets as their uniforms or in their simple combat attire, as Team RWBY was.

After acknowledging the four respective kingdoms, Ozpin continued his speech. "The four kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself."

Altaïr knew all too well about the struggles of the Great War, but as an assassin, he knew more about what happened under the surface. When Mantle and Mistral had declared to sacrifice the idea of art and self-expressionism, the Brotherhood knew they could not stand for a call that defied the Creed at its core.

The Brotherhood not only saw this as the darkest moment in Remnant's history, but the turning point in their war with the Templars. The Templars still lived today, and their conflict if anything, was lessened since the events of the war. Altaïr knew that despite their heated dispute, the Templars and Assassins share a common goal: peace.

The Templars of Remnant strive to keep their society from descending into chaos, and the Assassins' duty was to eliminate the strays too ignorant to heed a warning. The two factions, while still at odds, now manipulate society from their respective fields in a peaceful world, as seen with Vacuo and Atlas, respectively.

"… and as a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself; color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only they would refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come, and it is trend is still held to this very day." Ozpin continued.

"We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, as the rest of the world celebrates peace, huntsmen and huntresses will work together to uphold it." Ozpin finished his speech, before moving on to instructions.

"As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsman or huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

Ozpin then left the stage, cueing applause from the crowd, leading Team RWBY to plan out their next course of action.

"This is perfect. Now all we have to do is shadow a huntsman working in the southeast!" Ruby said to her team.

"Yeah! We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip at night!" Yang agreed with her sister.

"Let's check "Search and Destroy"." Weiss suggested, leading the team of four to one of the monitors lining the amphitheater. The projections detailed situations and missions to be carried out in certain sectors of the kingdom, similar to the system pro huntsmen and huntresses used.

Ruby then pointed at one particular mission marked under "Search and Destroy." "Here we go! Quadrant 5 needs Grimm cleared out!"

Blake smiled. "Well, it's in the southeast…"

"Sounds perfect!" Yang agreed.

Ruby then tapped her finger on the mission and entered her team name, but an alert popped up, reading "MISSION UNAVAILABLE TO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS".

"Wonderful." Weiss groaned.

"Any other ideas?" Blake asked Ruby.

"We… mail ourselves there?" Ruby joked, before hearing another voice behind her.

"Well, that is a creative option… but unfortunately, we've confirmed that the concentration of Grimm would be too extreme for first-year students. It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that the four of you will make your way there no matter which job you choose." Ozpin said, ignoring the awkward gazes Ruby was giving him.

"W-whatever makes you say that?" Ruby asked him, not even remotely trying to hide her suspiciousness.

"Well, I'm still curious as to how you four found yourselves at the docks last semester, and I'm interested in knowing as to how you found out about a 'hideout' in the southeast. And I certainly would like to know why witnesses reported seeing robots and rose petals in a dance club sometime ago." Ozpin recounted, earning awkward stammers from Ruby.

Ozpin then chuckled at her expense. "Well, I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for, so how about this? Instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?"

Ozpin then took out his scroll, and dialed in some numbers, and a few beeps from the monitor sounded, greening Team RWBY for the mission.

Ruby then smiled at her headmaster. "We won't let you down. Thank you, Professor Ozpin!

"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far, but you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the kingdom will not care. Stay close to your huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck!" Ozpin said, before turning to leave.

Team RWBY exited the building, their faces hanging low. "Well, that wasn't exactly uplifting." Yang commented.

"It's gonna be tough, but I know we can do it." Ruby replied reassuringly.

"Hey, Team CFVY's back!" They heard a student exclaim, directing their attention to a small crowd in the courtyard.

Walking through the courtyard was a team of second-years, each carrying a confident aura as they walked, dressed in full combat gear. One of the teens in particular looked familiar.

Blake walked up to them to greet her. "Velvet! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me." The rabbit faunus replied, gesturing to the seven foot tall samurai walking beside her.

"Your mission was supposed to end a week ago! What happened?" Weiss asked her.

"Nothing happened. There was just… so many…" Velvet blankly replied, spacing off slightly.

"But don't worry. You first-years are just shadowing huntsmen, so you should be fine! Stay safe, yeah?" Velvet said, before leaving with her team.

Ruby looked amongst her team, their expressions more sullen and doubtful. "Guys… we can do this. We've never backed down, and we're not gonna start now!" Ruby said to her team, attempting to lift their spirits, causing small smiles to form on her teammates' faces.

"Besides, we won't be alone out there. We'll be working alongside a genuine huntsman!" Ruby said, eager to meet this hero who trained his life to fight for the people of Remnant.

 **Later…**

"Alright girls! Who's ready to fight for their lives?"

Ruby wasn't expecting this, and judging from the looks on her teammates' faces, they too were hardly thrilled.

"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss stammered at their green-haired history teacher dressed in safari gear.

"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, seeing as you've opted to shadow a huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance, I can assure you we will not be establishing a base of operations. Rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland, and making camp in any inhabitable locations we may stumble upon. I've packed all our essentials myself provided the air course and readied the airship." Oobleck began, somehow saying this entire paragraph of speech in five seconds.

"And! It's _Dr._ Oobleck. I didn't earn a PhD for fun, thank you very much!" Oobleck said as he shot Weiss a frown.

"Uuh" Weiss stammered, only for Oobleck to interrupt her again.

"Come now, children, according to my schedule, we are already 3 minutes behind… schedule!" Oobleck said before dashing off to the Bullhead in a couple of seconds.

"Okay… looks like we're gonna be saving the world with Dr. Oobleck… yeah it sounds worse when you say it out loud." Ruby said awkwardly.

"SAVE THE WORLD?!" They heard a particularly bubbly voice exclaim behind them.

"You're going on world-saving missions without us?!" Nora yelled in outrage as she walked with the rest of Team JNPR.

"I'm hurt! Sad! Maybe a little hungry? The last one's not your fault, though. _REN…_ " Nora glared at her partner, who had his arms crossed and his head turned away from her.

"So, where are you guys going?" Jaune asked Team RWBY.

"Oh, just outside the kingdoms!" Ruby answered, not giving away the full details of their mission.

"Oh, so are we!" Nora giddily replied.

Pyrrha giggled at her teammate's antics. "Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village."

"We set off tomorrow." Ren added.

"Then maybe you'll run into us!" They heard another voice call out.

They all turned to see Team ACEE walking their way. "We're shadowing my father to recover intelligence and data from the field. We're going just outside the kingdom." Connor said to them.

"Wait… father?" Jaune asked the Assassin.

"Haytham Kenway. He works for the Atlesian Military under General Ironwood." He explained, earning awed gasps from the blonde boy.

"Something about an abandoned lab." Edward added.

"Then how 'bout you guys party with us tonight?" They heard Sun ask Team JNPR.

"We're working in the city, shadowing a crime specialist." Sun explained to them.

"All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges." Neptune added, causing Jaune to give starstruck gasps.

"We'd normally go to the city with you guys, but that would mean stuff's always exploding and junk. So we thought it'd be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's… y'know, normal." Sun explained further, before a final voice interrupted.

"Detective work? Please!" They turned to see Jacob with his own team.

"We decided to shadow an underworld specialist, so we're working in the city." Evie told them.

"We'll be working in gang control, taking care of common crooks, y'know, sorting out the slums." Arno explained further.

"Y'know, I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into each other." Adé added.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to that, dude." Neptune said, sneaking a wink at Evie, causing a light blush to flash on her cheek.

"Well-" Ruby began, before Oobleck called out from the Bullhead.

"Four minutes, ladies!"

"Well… wish us luck!" Ruby said as the group of 18 dispersed into their respective teams. Team RWBY then boarded the Bullhead, ready to be shipped off on their first official mission as huntresses.

 **Up next: Missions and Gangs galore!**

 **Hey guys! Sorry for the long delay, school's been a pressing matter lately, but I'll try to make it up to you guys! Team ACEE's gonna be rolling with old man Haytham (doing what I'll be telling you later.) and Team JAAE's staying in the city. Obviously, this means we'll be getting some Rook action, as well as some assassinations going on! As I said last chapter, please review or PM me ideas for targets and I'll include them into the story! Also, this means they'll be running into our favorite dorks Sun and Neptune!**

 **New ideas: In other news, I've been having an idea for a new xover fic. One would be an Akame ga Kill/Tf2 crossover! Seeing as to how there had been less than mediocre attempts at making these, I'd figure I'd throw in my own try on this idea. The other is another Akame ga Kill crossover, but with Injustice! I thought this would be a nice twist on the story, because what better to put into a corrupt crime-orgy of an empire than the man who erased crime altogether? Tell me which idea seems good, or if you'd rather have me focus on this story.**

 **Headcanons: Why do I suddenly have this weird headcanon for Neo? I'd imagine that after the Fall of Beacon, she has nowhere to go, but Jacob gives her a second chance with the Rooks. Evie still finds it hard to trust her, but Jacob still tries to get her to adjust. What do you think?**

 **By the way, have any of you watched Kimi no na wa (Your Name) yet? I think it's an amazing film, definitely my favorite anime film by now. With gorgeous animation, beautiful music and a story that will bring tears to your eyes, I'd highly recommend this film for anyone who hasn't watched it.**

 **memelord guest: …suuuuure…**

 **littlejason8: ZWEIIIIIIIIIIIII!  
**

 **Batmd: I know, right?**

 **: Starrick. Also, yeah, thanks! Haytham is really cool, and I'd love to introduce him with the rest of the gang soon!**

 **EzioIsPIRATE: DanananananananaDanananananananaHAYTHAAAAAAM**

 **merendinoemiliano: Yes, they do. And yeah, I guess you'll need to wait a little longer before we get to know what happens to Pyrrha.**


	23. King Among Thieves

**Above Vale…**

High in the clouds, speeding over the city skyline of Vale, a Bullhead carrying a team of four huntresses in training and a hyper-caffeinated history teacher flew through the stratosphere.

Yang felt the cold wind flow through the deck and catch her hair, her golden locks dancing in the breeze like burning flames. She then turned to her teacher. "I have to say, I guess I never saw you as much of a fighter."

Oobleck then raised his finger to reply. "Well, I admit that I fancy myself as more of an intellectual, but as a huntsman, I can assure you I've had my fair share of tussles!"

"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked.

"Those are truffles." Blake answered her.

"Like the clam?"

"Those are mussels." Yang answered for Ruby.

"Besides, given my expertise in the field of history, as well as my… dabblings in the art of archeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw it fit to assign me to this particular… assignment!" Oobleck explained.

"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asked in confusion, still not knowing why exactly one of their history teachers was coming with them dressed in safari gear.

"My, what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why, history is the backbone of our very society! And the liver! And the kidneys too, if I were to wager…" Oobleck replied with his trademark eccentricity.

"And that means…?" Ruby asked.

"The southeast quadrant of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but it is also the location of one of the kingdom's greatest losses and failures." Oobleck explained.

"Mountain Glenn." Ruby realized.

"That's right, it was an expansion of Vale. But in the end, it got overrun by Grimm and was fenced off from the rest of the city." Yang continued.

Oobleck took a good look at Ruby's face. It was amazing as to how absurdly similar she was with her. " _If only you knew everything…_ " Oobleck thought to himself.

"Correct! And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder." Oobleck replied to Yang.

"And a likely place for a hideout." Blake added.

Oobleck adjusted his spectacles with a grin. "Precisely!"

The bullhead then began to descend and hover above ground, cueing all passengers to drop off in a battle stance, their weapons at the ready, while Oobleck simply took another sip from his thermos.

The girls of Team RWBY took a good look around them at the ghost town that was Mountain Glenn. The area was a far cry from the urban jungle that it used to be, tall buildings stood over the wrecked architecture and the empty streets. Any areas that weren't covered in debris and piles of dust were overgrown and blown apart.

Bridges were destroyed, the roads were split open, and what would've made up the skyline stood unfinished, support beams jutting from the structures like bones. The place was completely quiet and eerie with the constant gloom from the clouds above, adding to the depressing state of the district.

Oobleck then spoke up to address his students. "Ladies, you may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as a huntress has begun. From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?"

Oobleck then turned to notice Ruby with a backpack slung over her shoulders. "Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all your bags at school!"

Ruby's eyes widened and she stammered, "But, uh… you haven't told us to listen to you yet… so I didn't…"

Oobleck raised his eyebrow at her response. "Well, she isn't wrong. Very well Ruby. Leave your bag here, we can pick it back up on our return."

"B-but…" Ruby tried to stutter out, only for Oobleck to reply hastily, "Young lady, what could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important for you to bring it-"

But then, Zwei popped his head out of the bag, causing Ruby to stiffen and everyone else to eye the small dog curiously. "Get back in the bag…" Ruby whispered to Zwei, who obeyed with a bark.

Oobleck stared at Ruby in the eye with a serious expression. "We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought… a dog?!"

Afraid, Ruby could not answer. "I…"

"GENIUS!"

Oobleck then sped past Ruby, picking up Zwei from the bag, accidentally knocking Ruby down on her butt.

"Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for hunts such as ours!"

Everyone stood silently for a moment. "I'm a genius!" Ruby proudly said, quickly taking advantage of the situation, but resulting in facepalms from her teammates.

"So, what are your orders, Doctor?" Blake asked Oobleck.

"Ah, yes! Straight to the chase, I like it!" Oobleck said.

"As you all have been informed, the southeast has been marked a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible reasons for this behavior. One of which being… Grimm."

Everyone stood confused. That didn't exactly sound right in their ears. "Uhh, what…?" Ruby asked.

"Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately 100 yards from us at this very moment." Oobleck said bluntly.

"What?" Yang exclaimed as they all turned around to see a Beowolf emerging from an abandoned building.

Everybody readied their weapons for a fight, but their teacher stopped them. "Stop. There are several reasons as to why Grimm would congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which being their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred, all qualities that are likely held by our targets harboring ill intent.

"So… what now?" Yang asked him.

"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey." Oobleck devised.

"How long do we wait?" Ruby asked again.

"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks? Why Grimm have been known to stand isolated from the pack for months, _and_ there's the whole pack."

"What?" Everyone quickly turned back behind them to see an entire group of Beowolves emerging onto the street.

"And now they've seen us."

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed in surprise.

"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!" Oobleck yelled in response.

Everyone looked ahead to see the large pack bounding towards them, blood red eyes glowing with bloodlust, with drool dripping from their bony fangs.

"I take it that tracking's out of the question?" Blake asked.

"An accurate assumption, yes." Oobleck agreed.

"So what now?" Yang asked him.

Oobleck smiled. "Show me what you're capable of."

Ruby brought out Crescent Rose and loaded in a lightning cartridge, the blade crackling with electrical sparks. "Cover your ears, Zwei!" She called out to her pet dog, who merely barked in response.

 **Police Department, Vale**

Frederick Abberline was a busy man, especially with the recent spike in criminal activity in Vale. For the past year, Fred was suffering ceaseless headaches from work.

If a gang war wasn't enough for him to deal with, he was ready to collapse and die when he was assigned to investigate strings of murders across the city. Fred wasn't getting enough sleep, and just wished he could go home and lie down on his bed until the next week, but as a cop and a part-time huntsman, he couldn't just quit on the job.

The detective sat down at his desk, rubbing his temples and lighting a cigarette in order to calm his nerves. As he slumped down in his chair, he heard someone knock on his door.

"Come in!" He said in a loud voice, followed with the sound of the door creaking open. He directed his attention to his visitor to see the face of friend and underworld contact, Jacob Frye.

"Long time no see, Freddy." The gangster said to the detective. Frederick smiled and returned his gesture, shaking his hand. Under normal circumstances, he would find it unusual that he was shaking the hand of a gang leader, but the identity of the Rook's leader was unknown by the authorities, and a secret Frederick felt was best kept in order to make his job an easier one.

"Nice to see you too, Jacob. How's school been treating you, Mr. Huntsman-in-Training?" Frederick asked him.

"Oh, it's been great, being team leader and all. Evie's…well, Evie. How about you?"

"Oh you know, with between the White Fang, dust robberies and murder cases, I just can't catch a break! Anyways, you're here to help me out. How's about we get started?"

"What're we looking for?" Jacob asked eagerly.

Frederick pulled out a case file from his desk and placed it in front of Jacob. The assassin curiously examined the file and then opened it. His eyes turned to the pictures taken from the crime scenes.

"The first victim's name was Luna Amethyst. Two weeks ago, her body was found in an alleyway near the City Square. Body was impaled, her spine severed and her heart punctured." Frederick explained.

"Yikes." Jacob winced as he saw the picture of the body. The woman had purple hair, but baby blue eyes, wide open and devoid of life. On her chest was a large stain of blood, with a slit where she must've been stabbed.

"Amethyst was a wealthy woman, with ties to the Auditore Bank. We suspect this to be a contract killer we're after. The second victim tells us more. Lief Turquoise was found murdered in his own home. His body was covered in severe lacerations and stab wounds, and he apparently died from a slash across his stomach. He was also found near his sword when he died, the clips empty and the blade chafed, indicating a fight must have taken place."

"Interesting. What kind of contract killer uses a sword to kill?" Jacob asks.

"The kind that wants his victims to suffer a painful death." Frederick answered with a grim tone.

"The kind with a blade up his neck." Jacob replied with a sinister grin, flicking out his hidden blade.

"Find the killer and bring them back here, dead or alive, but we need to know their employer first. You and your team investigate the scene of the crime to see if you can know where to find him, and then report back to me for your next assignment."

"Good. Head to the crib with the boys, and we'll meet you there when we're finished." Jacob told the officer before walking out the door with the case file.

Jacob walked out the door, and looked to his left to see Sun and Neptune dancing around the room holding their junior detective badges.

"Heh. Amateurs."

 **Residential Area, Vale**

Jacob looked around at the scene in the room and cringed, as did his teammates. Their eyes fell upon the splatters of blood and wrecked furniture around the room.

The dead body was already covered up and the scene wrapped in police tape, but nothing was moved or out of place to leave the potential evidence unharmed. With several officers standing guard over the scene. Team JAAE nodded to each other and stepped forward.

The first cop to notice them perked up and held out his hand. "Halt. This is a restricted area." He said in a firm voice.

Jacob's smug expression didn't shift however, and he reached into his pocket to present the officer a VPD detective's badge. Arno, Adé and Evie did the same.

"Mr. Abberline sent us. Let us investigate the scene, and we'll be out of your hair." Arno said to the officer calmly.

The officer raised an eyebrow, but noticing the calm, relaxed tone of the assassin's voice, he realized they weren't lying. "Very well. Good luck."

The officer stepped aside, letting the four assassins past into the room. Adé looked around the room and nearly gagged. Blood splatters were coating the floor and the corpse was in the middle of the room, covered up.

Evie moved towards the body and nodding to her team, she pulled at the cloth covering the body to reveal a gruesome sight. The dead man was covered in deep lacerations and stab wounds, his neck cut open and his head resting in a pool of his own blood.

"So… where do we start?" Jacob asked his team.

Arno stepped forward. "We find out what happened. I got this."

Arno then stepped over to the corpse and knelt down. He then raised his arm with his hidden blade extended.

"Just what do think you're doing?" Evie asked Arno in mild outrage.

Arno simply grinned. "Learning from a dead man."

Arno then slowly plunged the blade into the corpse's neck, trying to inflict minimal damage on the body, drawing fresh blood. All of a sudden, Arno's vision glazed over and his senses were overtaken by a new sensation. Foreign memories flashed at random, and Arno filed through them, trying to catch one that could give him a clue.

He saw many events pass before his eyes erratically and quickly. He saw a room with toys, a classroom, and two hands holding a sword. He skimmed past these childhood memories, and then Arno came across a new point in the victim's life.

" _Don't w*****. T***** wo** hurt you any****re._ " Arno could only make out a few words from the memory, but he was able to notice scenes of battle against shady-looking men in red.

" _Can't let their corruption continue."_ Arno heard.

" _I need to find out who's behind this."_ Arno heard the man say in his thoughts.

Then, he came across a fresher memory, one more recent than the rest. He prodded the memory for the man's thoughts to gain an image of what happened.

Arno saw the man enter his house, only to immediately stop in his tracks the moment he entered. Everything seemed in order, quiet and unscathed, but Arno's assassin training had taught him better. Something wasn't right.

Lief reached for his sword, sheathed at his belt, but all of a sudden, a new rush filled his senses. Arno knew this sensation: pure, unrestrained bloodlust. The huntsman's eyes darted behind him to find the source directly behind him, sword raised.

Lief's arms moved faster than he could process the threat in front of him, raising his blade up to deflect the killer blow. Clashing blades, the novice huntsman leaned in closer to get a better look at his assailant.

The intruder was a young man, wearing plated armor all over his body. His right arm whirred and clacked in an unnatural way, almost machinelike, and his blade was a long and heavy broadsword, with a revolving chamber for dust at its hilt. His hair was a dark shade of brown, and his emerald eyes cold and void of emotion: the eyes of a professional killer.

Arno was only able to make a faint outline of the intruder, and the memory glitched and warped as he tried to unravel the events of the man's death.

The intruder then raised his right arm, and with knuckles flaring with energy, he punched, delivering a dust-infused metal blow to the head for the young huntsman. Lief's brain rattled in his skull as a metal fist struck him square in the face, making his head spin and his nose spill with warm blood.

The intruder then raised his sword, but Lief retaliated by pulling out a pistol. The intruder's eyes flinched, but did not waver. The first set of bullets were fired, only for them to bounce off of the intruder's blade.

Lief's eyes widened, and charged at his assailant with a battle cry, but the intruder did not move and only gave a light snicker. Before he knew it, the young huntsman was sprawling on the floor from a jarring knee to the stomach. Lief felt his aura fade away, flickering around his form like sparks of lightning.

His breaths quick and hasted, he reached for his scroll, but in the blink of an eye, he felt a sharp pain, causing him to yell out in agony. He stared at the stump that was his hand, spurting with blood, then back up at his intruder.

Lief clenched his jaw to hold in the pain and raised his sword again. He would not die so easily. Two blades clashed, but as they fought, Arno noticed one thing. The killer's moves were fluid and sophisticated, unwasted and calm. This man probably had training from the highest order. However, Lief's movements were becoming more erratic and impulsive, and Arno could feel the man's strain growing as he fought.

Arno then connected the dots. The killer was trying to wear him down. After some time, Lief's legs gave way, and his arms limp. His breathing was heavy and his mouth drooling with blood. The killer then walked up to him and grabbed him by the neck. He raised his sword in line with his chest and stared sinisterly into his victim's eyes.

Lief's eyes filled with dots and weakly demanded, "Why…?"

The killer gave no answer, his face unchanged. "Business." He said coldly, before plunging the blade in his chest. And from there, the world around him blurred as the first drops of blood splattered on the floor.

Arno's mind immediately snapped back to reality, and fell back on the floor with heavy breaths and his head pounding like a war drum.

"Arno!" Adé rushed to grab him before his head hit the ground, as Jacob and Evie rushed to his side.

"Tell us what you saw!" Evie demanded.

Arno's breathing softened and his vision cleared as he rubbed his forehead with a groan. He lifted his head up, and spoke. "I… saw the killer, but he never said his name. Fought with a broadsword, had a mechanical arm. From his fighting style, I assume he had military training."

Jacob scratched his chin in thought. "I don't know anybody fitting that description, but maybe we can find something from the boys downtown. C'mon."

 **Elsewhere…**

"WE'RE JUNIOR DETECTIVES!" The happiest faunus in the world shouted out as he skipped down the road like a kid on the first snowfall.

Neptune gazed at his badge with stars shining in his retinas, inwardly giggling like a little girl.

"Okay, okay, okay…" Sun said to his friend with a hand on his shoulder. "Just like we practiced. Ready?"

Neptune's grin grew with Sun's, tingling in anticipation. "Yeah, yeah! I swear I won't mess it up this time!"

"Okay! Three, two, one!"

Both teens then dramatically held out their badges with their chests held high. "Nobody move! Junior detectives!" Sun announced.

"We have badges, so you know it's official!" Neptune continued.

Sun and Neptune looked at each other, not saying anything for several seconds, before laughing and cheering happily. "Oh my God, we were so cool!" Neptune said.

"I know, right?!" Sun agreed.

Suddenly, Neptune slapped a finger over his partner's mouth, his eyes turned to a particular alleyway.

Both sneaked over around the block and looked down the alley, where two men were laughing. Both men were dressed in checkered green shirts, and were facing a wall.

The bigger man was restraining a rather frightened man dressed in red, while his smaller associate was holding a knife to his throat.

"Now, I'm gonna tell you one more time. Mr. Frye demands an audience. If he don't show, Mr. Frye's gonna find him himself! Mallum Street tonight, 9 on the dot. Got that, pig?!" The smaller thug shrieked at the captive.

"Y-y-yes! Please! Just let me go, man!" The man in red pleaded.

Both thugs in green chuckled and walked off, leaving the Blighter to run and relay the message.

"What's going on?" Neptune asked quietly.

"I dunno. Let's follow those guys, and maybe we'll find their boss." Sun responded quietly.

"Yeah! Good idea!" Neptune agreed.

The two young huntsmen-in-training then tailed the two gangsters through the alleyways and through the city, strafing rooftops and sneaking behind corners while keeping their eyes on their targets.

Before they knew it, they had entered a seedier part of the town, with trash lining the streets and graffiti scrawled on every wall. Every man the two passed gave them the evil eye or eyed them with a greedy glint in their stares, causing Sun's faunus senses to tingle in unease.

"Hey Nep, just where the hell are we?" Sun asked his partner worriedly.

"Looks like the industrial area. God, I miss Mistral." Neptune said

Sun and Neptune continued walking, until they found themselves in front of a large warehouse. The tall chimneys spouted out pillars of black smoke while the state of the building was in terrible shape, with rusted metal sheets covering holes in the fence around the building and trash littering the entire area.

Neptune's face paled with sweat lining his brow, and Sun swallowed down a gulp. Neptune looked to his partner with a worried expression, and Sun returned his expression, then he hardened his brow with a determined face, unfolding his staff. Neptune did the same, taking out his gun.

As both huntsmen-in-training entered the building, they treaded cautiously, trying not to make a sound, hearing only the whirring and clacking of machinery and the hum of the massive Dust generator in the middle of the room, giving off a deep crimson glow.

Suddenly before either of them could react, they heard the cocking of guns ring out from all directions, and as the lights came on around them, Sun and Neptune found themselves surrounded by scrappy-looking men and women from every floor and direction, each pointing a gun or a knife their way.

Gritting their teeth menacingly, they gripped their weapons tighter, ready for one hell of a fight, and with a loud battle cry, each side ran to shed the first blood.

But then, a loud gunshot sounded from the top floor, causing each person in the building to abruptly stop. Sun and Neptune's eyes followed the noise to see a familiar-looking figure wearing a dapper top hat and smirking back down at them.

"Whoa, there! What did we say, people?! Nobody dies here unless I say so!" Jacob yelled out as he leapt down to the confused combat students "And… I have to say, wasn't expecting to see you two here."

As the rest of Team JAAE emerged from the shadows, Sun and Neptune could only gawk with slacked jaws in shock. "Jacob?!"

"Sadly." Evie replied with a grin and a roll of the eyes.

"Anyways, we'll explain later, but how about we cut to the chase?" Arno said.

Although still taken aback from the odd revelation that one of his friends was a gang leader, Sun merely nodded and followed them.

Going outside, the group came up to a set of train tracks. And on cue, the sound of a horn signaled the arrival of a large dust-powered engine. "The cops can't follow you when you're always moving." Jacob explained briefly.

"Get in. We'll talk inside." Adé said to Sun and Neptune, who did as they were told before the train set off again.

Inside the train, Sun and Neptune studied the interior with wonder. In one car, a mattress was set up parallel to a work desk and a bookshelf, most likely Evie's. The next car had a similar setup, but trash was littering the bed and the desk was absent in favor of a closet housing canes, kukri and brass knuckles, a clothes rack for coats and of course, top hats lined neatly on top.

"Nice place you got here, Jacob." Neptune said.

"Thanks! When we first came to Vale with the rest of the Rooks, we took this train from a rival running this district." Jacob replied.

"Rooks?" Sun asked.

Evie sighed. "We grew up in Mantle, and let me tell you, it's not a place you'd want a child to endure. Take Atlas' weather and combine it with Nassau. That should give you a glimpse."

"Yikes." Neptune cringed.

"Backstory aside, two main gangs run the underworld here in Vale. Our Rooks and the Blighters. Roman Torchwick's been with the Blighters for quite a while, and with Roman working with the White Fang, things have been harder for us lately." Jacob said.

Soon, they entered a car a desk in the middle, and on the wall was a board with the faces of several people pinned on, some faces crossed out or covered in writing. On the desk was a map of Vale.

Jacob pointed at a certain part of the map as everybody gathered around. "Now, we've challenged the Blighters to a gang fight for this stretch of turf here. We win, the industrial district will belong to the Rooks. This is important, so we'll need everybody to help." Jacob said, directing his gaze to Sun and Neptune.

Sun and Neptune looked back at Jacob, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, and droplets of sweat began to drip down their foreheads.

However, Arno reassured them. "Hey, think about it this way. We're after the same person. We take him down, mission accomplished and we can call it a day."

Neptune looked to his partner for approval, and Sun looked back at him, nodding with a firm glance. "We're in. What's the plan?"

 **Mountain Glenn, Vale**

Ruby tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, her muscles aching from an entire day spent fighting Grimm. Her eyes blinked open groggily, and she turned to see Zwei standing up beside her, his tail wagging with energy.

"Zwei... it's late. Go to bed..." Ruby managed to groan, fighting back a yawn, but her eyes widened when Zwei suddenly took off on his little legs.

"Zwei!" She exclaimed quietly, trying not to wake the others.

Getting up, Ruby looked around the small, abandoned part of building to see everybody else still asleep. Sighing to herself, she picked up Crescent Rose and quietly dashed out.

Peeking around the entrance, she scanned the area for the dog, and found Zwei under an unfinished building, lifting his leg and heeding the call of nature.

Ruby sighed with a smile. "Zwei, this is a wasteland! You literally could've done that anywhere!"

Picking Zwei up, she was about to get back inside until she heard a stray voice in the distance.

"Wait, what was that?"

Hiding behind a corner, Ruby caught glimpse of two White Fang soldiers walking down the road, armed with dust rifles.

"What was what?" A tusked man asked his accomplice.

"I dunno, I thought I heard a Beowolf or… something.", replied the other faunus, who had a reptilian tail swishing behind him.

"Ugh, let's just finish our patrol and get back. This place freaks me out." The first soldier said, walking the other way, his fellow faunus following suit.

Narrowing her gaze, Ruby tailed the pair, sneaking behind destroyed buildings and using her semblance to dash in between cover spots.

Ruby soon followed them to an abandoned building, and saw them fiddling with a door. Hiding behind a corner, she stuck Zwei around the corner and whispered to him, "Are they gone? One bark means yes."

After hearing the sound of a latch closing, Zwei let out a single bark. Smiling, Ruby reached for her scroll. "Oh, this is it! This is it!" Dialing her team, she waited for a reply, only to hear silence due to poor service.

With a groan, she picked up her scythe and stood up. "C'mon, we gotta get to the others!" She said to Zwei, who barked in response, following his master.

However, the ground suddenly began to shake under Ruby's feet. Then she saw cracks forming along the road, then breaking apart to reveal a massive hole. Eyes wide in fear, Ruby scrambled for stable ground. However, the asphalt beneath her collapsed and she reached out a hand to grab the road, her other hand clinging to Zwei.

Flinging Zwei to the road, Ruby felt her grip weakening.

"Go!" She cried out before falling down the dark abyss.

Soon, Ruby felt her body slam down onto solid ground. Rubbing her forehead with a groan, she came to her senses and observed the area around her. She was in a expansive cavern, the main source of light shining from the hole above her, illuminating what happened to be a city skyline.

Blocks of abandoned buildings decorated the cave, in ruins like the city above. But then, Ruby heard a door open behind her, and guns cocking.

"Freeze!" A Fang soldier yelled.

"Where'd she come from?" Another asked.

Ruby backed away, but regained balance once she realized she was on the edge of a building.

"You're a long way from home, aren't you, kid?" One of the soldiers said.

Seeing no other option, Ruby reached behind her to grab Crescent Rose, only to remember she had dropped it on the road above. Nonetheless, she balled her fist together and ran up to punch a soldier.

However, the faunus was able to catch it with little effort, and then kneed the huntress-in-training in the gut, causing her to writhe in pain on the floor.

"The boss'll wanna see this one." The Fang member said before kicking Ruby in the face, knocking her out.

 **Industrial District, Vale**

The shattered moon, shining ethereal light down to the ruined street illuminated the silent Mallum road.

It was silent tonight, but anything but peaceful. Two factions of scrappy, bloodthirsty men and women ready to throw away their lives to snuff out several more stood ready, weapons gripped tight in their hands.

On one side, a large man dressed in a black trench coat stood. In his hands, holding a large machete, covered in scratches and blood stains from previous skirmishes and his face hardened with a growl that would make lesser men shiver in fear.

But the man standing opposite of him was unafraid. In fact, he smiled with a murderous glint in his eye under his top hat. His black leather trench coat swished in the cold wind, and in his hand, he gripped a modified revolver, clicking the barrel methodically. In his other, he held a razor-sharp kukri, the shine from the blade reflecting the moonlight.

Beside Jacob, Evie and Adé stood, holding their weapons tight. Arno, Sun and Neptune watched from the rooftops down at the street, kneeling down and ready to strike at the right moment.

"This is your last chance, filthy dipper. Run, or you'll die tonight." Jacob said to the rival gang leader.

The man only laughed and replied, "Shouldn't I be asking you that?!"

Jacob only chuckled and yelled out as loud as he could, charging forward with the rest of the gang. The Blighters did the same, and the first blood was soon splashing onto the road as the bodies fell.

The fight escalated into a free-for-all bloodbath as bullets flew and blades slashed through the air, more men and women falling by the minute.

Jacob made his way toward the gang leader, who was chopping up Rooks like logs with his blade. Jacob aimed his revolver at his head, only for him to raise his machete, the bullet ricocheting off of the metal.

Jacob gritted his teeth and transformed his guns into melee mode, slashing and stabbing for the man's throat. The gang leader laughed and kicked Jacob in the gut, knocking the air out of him, but as he was about to heave his machete onto his head, Jacob raised both his knives and pushed him back with a stunning headbutt, leaving him open for a volley of shots from his Rooks.

Riddled with bullets, the gang leader flew back as blood spurted from his chest. Jacob then ran up to him, ready to end him with his hidden blade as he drew his arm back with his wrist up.

However, he sensed a different presence behind him as the strong bloodlust in the air filled his senses. Jacob turned behind him, and barely dodged the massive sword swung in his direction.

Jacob got up and saw him, the man they'd really been chasing all day. The man they found to be named Brutus held his broadsword in his metallic hand, the energy coursing through the limb enabling him to wield the heavy weapon with speed and power.

The contract killer stared Jacob down with cold eyes, and then advanced, swinging his blade above his shoulders and down towards Jacob. He quickly flipped backwards, the sword missing him by a hair length.

Jacob then ran forward, trying to tag him with his kukri, but the hitman easily dodged and parried his swings. Evie leapt up behind him, trying to stab his back with her hidden blade, but Brutus quickly noticed her move and grabbed her from he air, slamming her body down to the ground.

Adé, Sun and Neptune ran in towards the bounty hunter to help out their friends, but Sun was tackled to the road by a Blighter, and Adé was caught off-guard by the gang leader, who was still alive, and not happy at all.

Neptune's eyes narrowed at his opponent as he charged his trident. Raising the polearm, he blocked a powerful slam from Brutus' sword. His arms jarring from stopping the blow, he flipped backwards, and ran forward, raising his weapon to throw it.

Brutus saw his movements and raised his metal arm to counter Neptune, but Neptune wasn't throwing it. The blue-haired combat student stabbed forward with the weapon, hitting the metal, and sending a powerful electrical charge through it, frying Brutus with the shock.

Wounded, he staggered back, but with a fierce roar, the large man ran for Neptune,, pinning him down to the road by his neck. Struggling to breathe, the teen desperately gripped the hands choking him, trying to pull them apart.

"Not so tough now, are you?" He sneered in Neptune's face, only to be confused when he heard laughter leave his mouth.

"All part of the plan…"

Like an owl swooping in for the kill, Arno made no sound as he descended from the rooftops. Dropping down onto the ground, Arno raised his arm and plunged his hidden blade into the nape of Brutus' neck. He felt the blade pierce his spinal cord and shatter his neck vertebrae, indicating his success.

As the first blood seeped out of the wound, Arno's vision blurred to new scenes of memory. He first saw a kid… in a large house at a dinner table filled with food. He heard laughter, joy and innocence. But then, it stopped with a new vision of fire, loneliness as he heard a plane's engine.

"I need to live."

"I need to be strong."

He saw despair, Arno saw loss, and then he felt pain as he could no longer feel his arm. Then it ended when Arno saw the Bullhead landing, and he saw Ironwood. Arno guessed the man used to be military. But then he heard screaming, anger, as he came home with shame.

"I'm the strongest. The strong kill the weak."

The man's life then changed. He saw faces twist in pain and eyes fill with death as the years went by. Arno then came across one particular memory that peaked his interest.

"I have a job for you. Mr. Starrick finds competition quite unsavory. We need you to lighten the load for us."

He saw the gang leader from before seated across him in a large warehouse, men and women in the Blighter's signature red working around them.

"Who's my target?"

With that, Arno's mind came back to reality, and Brutus' body fell to the floor with a loud thud.

" _Repose in paix._ " Arno said to his target as he retracted his hidden blade.

As he looked around him, he saw the gang leader was also dead, a massive bullet wound in his chest. Adé holding a smoking blunderbuss told him all he needed to know about the circumstances of his death.

The remaining Blighters numbered in few compared to the Rooks. Jacob then spoke up loudly. "Join us, or join them!"

With that, the remaining Blighters either cheered or ran. Those that ran never left the street. Jacob then turned to Sun and Neptune.

"You know, we couldn't have done this without your help."

"Don't mention it. We look after each other, y'know?" Sun answered.

"C'mon boys, drinks are on me!" Jacob then announced, marching off with the crowd of gangsters to the nearest pub for a celebratory pint.

 **Underground District, Mountain Glenn**

Roman laughed as he beat Ruby with his cane, each blow filling him with a satisfying tingle. Jack, who was watching from a train car couldn't help but grin as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.

"I gotta say, Red. You are much more manageable without that oversized gardening tool of yours!"

Ruby growled and ran up to Roman to punch him, but he merely stepped to the side and smacked her away with his cane, causing her face to slide across the dirt.

Roman laughed in enjoyment, but then stared into Ruby's eyes with an evil glint in his own. "But seriously though, how'd ya find us, Red?"

Ruby snarled, then burst out of sight in a flurry of rose petals.

"Whoa!"

Roman then looked behind him to see Ruby getting away. Ruby ran as fast as she could, only to yell out in pain and fall to the ground as she felt a sharp pain in her leg.

"Don't think we're just gonna let you leave, kid." Jack said to Ruby, yanking his knife from her leg, only to feel the entire cavern shake with the dulled sound of an explosion.

Roman groaned in frustration, annoyed by the interruption. "Hey, could you guys check that out? Kinda in the middle of something here."

The faunus nodded and picked up their guns to investigate, until another explosion sounded, blowing smoke out from a nearby wall.

From the smoke, Ruby caught glimpse of four people chasing away White Fang soldiers. Smiling at the sight of her team, she used her semblance to run towards them.

Jack ran after Ruby, but stopped when he realized he couldn't keep up with her semblance. Growling in frustration, he pulled out his gun and fired, along with Roman and several Fang members.

Dodging the bullets, Ruby managed to escape. Bending his cane in anger, Roman turned to one of the Fang soldiers. "Attach this car and spread the word. We're starting the train."

"B-but we aren't finished-" The faunus tried to say, only to be pinned against the wall with Roman aiming his cane up his chin.

"Do it, or _you're_ finished!"

Ruby kept on running, but skidded to a stop as White Fang soldiers cut her off. But before they could fire their weapons, they all were blown away by a fiery blast from Yang's gauntlets.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed in joy as she hugged Ruby, happy to see her safe in her arms.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! But listen... Torchwick's got all sorts of weapons and robots down here!" Ruby explained to her team.

"What?" Blake gasped as she handed Crescent Rose back to Ruby.

"Androids, mechs, they're all loaded up on the train cars."

"But... that's ridiculous! The tunnels are sealed. The tracks lead to a dead end!" Oobleck replied.

At that moment, a voice over a loudspeaker spoke out loudly, "Get to your places, ladies and gentlemen, we are leaving now!" Roman announced as the train's wheels began to move.

Every White Fang member raced to reach the train, and Jack used the grappling hook on his gauntlet to latch onto a car, lifting himself aboard.

"Well, sounds like they're going somewhere!" Yang argued.

"We need backup! Let me call Jaune!" Ruby fumbled in her pocket and pulled out her scroll. She dialed in Jaune's number, only to groan in frustration when she couldn't get a call from low signal.

"I can't get through!" Ruby said.

"So, what do we do?" Weiss asked.

"I believe we have only one option." Oobleck answered.

Everybody looked forward at the train, nearing the tunnel entrance. Ruby unfolded her scythe, loading a cartridge and everybody followed, readying their weapons.

"We're stopping that train."

 **Up next: Volume 2 Finale: Part 1!**

 **Oh. My. God. How did I manage to stop updating this story for more than a month?! Well, I apologize for holding out on you all. School's been a huge weight on my shoulders lately. A million thanks for being patient with me and I hope to get done with Volume 2 soon! This chapter's easily the longest I've written as of now, and I hope you guys love it! Special thanks to Remnant7 for letting me use his OC Brutus for this chapter! My term break should come around in a couple of weeks, so I could get the next one up in a short while. If you're wondering what's up with Arno, I think i've decided on a semblance. You know how in Unity, when you kill a target, you can see their memories? Same principle, but he can do this when in contact with fresh blood. Also: OMFG DID YOU SEE THE BLAKE SHORT LIKE O-(section removed for excessive fanboying) Anyways, thanks for everything guys PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW, and I'll see you... next time! BYE-BYE!**

 **merendinoemiliano: Thanks! Yeah, I guess you're right. Volume 5's just around the corner and I really hope to see more of Neo!**

 **ARSLOTHES: Thanks!**

 **RemaGeek: Aww, you're too kind, sir! By the way, can't you just use your phone (unless you don't have one or can't use it)?**

 **Guest: Your wish is granted, good sir.**

 **Guest: FWI, Jacob's main combat weapons in the story are dual kukri that transform into revolvers.**

 **Sam Hill: Yeah, Thatch was a pretty awesome character. I think that'd be pretty cool to add in!**

 **Guest: Yeah, they would... maybe in a couple chapters.**

 **YoRHa-A2: Thanks!**


	24. End of the Line

**Uncharted Island, Location Unknown**

Four sets of eyes glared with murderous intent, blades stained red with blood and smoking black. Four unstoppable forces glided through the battlefield like angels of death erasing victims in the blink of an eye.

Another Grimm fell dead as Team ACEE ran through the horde of monsters, swinging their weapons and emptying their firearms at their targets.

Heads and limbs flew in all directions as the Assassins plowed through the pack of Beowolves, covering the autumn forest valley in black fog as Grimm fell one after another, each body disintegrating into a smokey black cloud.

Once the entire pack was gone, each Assassin sheathed their weapon, and turned waiting for further instructions from the Commander.

Haytham stepped forward from behind the group once the coast was clear and nodded with contentment. "Impressive. I can see that you all have been trained well. You will make fine warriors in the future."

"The honor is ours, Commander." Altaïr replied.

"Let us be on our way, then. The facility should be just a couple more miles north." Haytham said to the team.

Team ACEE nodded in response and continued on their way to their destination.

"So, what do you guys think of Master Templar over here?" Ezio whispered to the rest of his team.

Altaïr sighed. "He may be a Templar, but he has strong judgement and a talent for leadership. I admire these qualities in a man."

"Then what's your problem with me?" Edward asked him jokingly.

"You fail the judgement aspect, and I didn't even mention your drinking habit." Altaïr replied with a smirk, causing Ezio to chuckle lightly.

After some time walking, a large building came into view, resembling a factory of sorts.

In contrast to the vast expanse of boreal forest, the massive structure stood out, the walls overgrown with vegetation and the

Connor then walked up to a shipping crate and wiped off some of the dirt obscuring the surface. The dust cleared under his palm to reveal a stylized "M" symbol.

"Father, do you recognize this symbol?" Connor asked.

Haytham walked over to the crate and observed the symbol. "Merlot Industries. Yes, we're in the right place."

"Merlot? As in "Dr. Grimm" Merlot?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, I've heard of him a couple times on the news." Ezio replied.

Haytham nodded. "Dr. Merlot was known for his research on the creatures of Grimm, but after the discovery of certain… unethical practices and dangerous attempts to lure Grimm to the city, he was exposed, only to disappear some years back after the Mountain Glenn Breach, where his main institution was based."

"What was he working on?" Edward asked curiously.

"That's what we're here to find out." Haytham replied with a small grin.

Running up to the large building, all of them reached the wall and began to scale the building with incredible dexterity, reaching from ledge to ledge using their heightened senses to keep their balance.

They climbed higher, the sun beating down on them, but they did not slow down and continued on, scaling the building so high that the canopy of the trees lay far below them.

Haytham and Team ACEE finally reached the top, and the four assassins awaited the word from the Commander.

"This way, gentlemen." Haytham said as they strafed the roof, leaping over pipes and ducts and came across a service exit, guarded by a metal door. Haytham tried to turn the handle, but with no success, indicating the door was locked.

Nonetheless, he merely sighed and flicked out his own hidden blade. Slowly slotting the blade into the keyhole, he turned his wrist subtly. After some time, the door lock opened with a click. Opening the door, he signaled the group to follow him.

Now that Connor was inside the building, his senses could pick up a familiar menacing air, a presence that filled him with dread.

"Father, there are enemies awaiting us inside." Connor announced.

"Are you scared now, Connor?" Haytham asked Connor jokingly as they descended down the stairway.

"Anything but, _messere_." Ezio answered, grinning in anticipation.

 **Subway Tunnels, Mountain Glenn**

The train sped down the underground railway, the wheels under the cars sparking from friction.

One White Fang soldier looked back down the tunnel, just catching a glimpse of a red blur vanishing behind the car. Raising an eyebrow, he reached for his comms.

"Uhh… I think they made it on the tr-"

But before he could finish, a quick smack on the head from Oobleck's club knocked him out swiftly.

"This way, girls!" The teacher called out to Team RWBY as they began to climb to the roof of the car.

Meanwhile in the control room, a White Fang grunt entered, breathing heavily. "Uhh… boss, I think they got on the train."

Roman let out an exasperated sigh. "Then grab some cargo and get them off the train!"

As the faunus scurried out of the car, Roman pinched his nose in frustration. "Manic animals, every one of them!..."

But then he immediately changed his tone once he remembered the faunus standing right next to him working the controls. "B-but not you though, you're… you're great!"

Jack sighed with a facepalm and proceeded to walk out of the car, twirling his daggers in his gloved palms.

Meanwhile outside, Team RWBY had climbed to the roof of the train, listening for orders from their teacher. "Hurry, girls! We must get to the engine and stop this train!"

But Weiss raised her hand after she opened a hatch. "Uhh... Professor?"

" _Doctor._ "

"What's that?" Weiss asked, pointing down the hatch at a peculiar-looking device inside, colored wires curling in and out the machinery.

"That, my dear... appears to be a bomb." Oobleck said, causing each of the girls to instinctively leap back in alarm.

"We got baddies incoming!" Ruby called out, alerting the team to a large group of White Fang soldiers walking towards them, climbing out from the train cars.

"Well, I didn't expect them to go-" Oobleck said before being alerted to a beeping noise. They all looked down the hatch to see that the bomb was armed and ready to blow, a red light blinking with a rhythmic beep.

"… easy on us. Time to go!" Oobleck finished, ushering the girls to run to the next car. But Oobleck managed to gain Blake's attention before she could follow her team. "Blake! Detach the caboose! It will kill us all!"

"Right!" Blake leapt down to the coupling, gaining her footing and trying not to slip. She then brought out her Gambol Shroud and raised it high, ready to sever the connection. However, much to her surprise, the cars separated by themselves.

"I-it decoupled itself!" Blake reported to her teammates.

"What?!" Oobleck exclaimed in surprise.

"I guess he _really_ doesn't want us on this train!" Yang said.

Team RWBY then turned their attention to the car lagging behind down the tunnel, slowing down until the bomb detonated with a terrific explosion. After the car exploded, muffled roars and growls could be heard above on the surface, and Oobleck knew exactly what that was.

"That's not good…" He said to himself, until Ruby interrupted him.

"Uh, neither is this!" She pointed down at the hatch in their car, where another bomb identical to the last one was sitting.

" _Another_ bomb?!" Blake asked in shock.

Oobleck's eyes widened as he connected the dots. "No, no, no…"

Running to the next car to confirm his suspicions, he jumped over to the next car and opened the hatch, and sure enough, there was another bomb like the last inside.

"They _all_ have bombs!"

Suddenly, the bomb on the second car began to arm, the red ight blinking menacingly. Seeing this, Team RWBY hurriedly ran and jumped to the next car just as soon as the cars detached from one another.

"This doesn't make sense!" Yang yelled out in frustration.

But then, all of them turned their attention towards the advancing horde of White Fang soldiers coming towards them, with Jack climbing out of a hatch.

"Bring me their heads!" Jack ordered loudly, pointing his dagger in their direction, cueing the crowd to run towards the next car.

Narrowing their gazes, Team RWBY ran forward and stood ready for a fight, their weapons deployed and armed.

One Fang member reached to grab Yang, but she managed to kick him in the leg, throwing him off balance, and then swept him by the legs, flipping him upwards to catch her winking eye, before slamming him down the hatch with a pounding fist.

Blake nimbly slinked through the attacking group of faunus, moving under their noses and eyes, using her blades to slash at her opponent's legs, thinning out the crowd and taking out enemies efficiently.

Weiss clicked the chamber in her rapier, rolling out an ice dust slot before bursting forward with a glyph, leaving a spiky trail of ice jutting up from the ground behind her. Speeding through the enemy line, the ice knocked back any and all faunus standing in the way, and then Weiss held Myrtenaster in her hand with a steady stance, moving to cut down the foes remaining in her path.

Seeing Weiss nod her way, Ruby cocked her weapon and fired. Dashing straight and quickly from the recoil, Ruby flicked her weapon back as she brought it backwards for a powerful swing. Cleaving through the horde of White Fang soldiers with a graceful spin, the entire crowd of faunus fell unconscious and injured.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion filled the tunnel, directing Oobleck's eyes to the last car to detach. The explosion sent the car flying upwards, tearing a hole through the roof of the tunnels.

As the rubble and dust cleared, Oobleck could spot Grimm of all kinds descending to the tunnels from two-limbed Creeps and Beowolves to Deathstalkers and a massive King Taijitu.

Over loud roars and screeches, the massive horde began to pursue the train, lured in by the negativity emanating from the passengers.

In horror, Oobleck realized what was going on. "He's leading Grimm into the city!"

"What?!" Weiss yelled.

"It's the cars! They detach and explode, creating openings for the Grimm!" Oobleck explained.

"That's insane!" Blake exclaimed in shock.

As they spoke, yet another car detached, urging Oobleck to run forward. "We cannot let this train reach the city! You three go below and try to stop those bombs!" He yelled to Yang, Blake and Weiss.

"W-what about us?" Ruby asked Oobleck, aware that he had left her out.

"We're going to stop this train." Oobleck replied, striking a triumphant pose.

"Yeah, I know. I said that in the last chapter." Ruby deadpanned.

 **Merlot Industries, Unknown Branch**

As they came down the flight of stairs, Haytham and Team ACEE did not say a word, adding to the ominous air covering the abandoned building.

Weapons drawn, there was enough tension in the air that each of them could hear the pounding of their heartbeat ringing through their brains.

The room they had entered seemed to be an abandoned laboratory, machines and technology of all sorts scattered across the floor and torn apart. Whatever wasn't one with the floor was knocked down and the lights above them flickered on and off ominously.

Connor then noticed something on the floor. A small and barely noticeable black mark smudged across the floor. He knelt down and traced his finger across the mark, but as he touched the mark, he felt a familiar chill run up his spine.

To confirm his suspicions, Connor scanned the mark with his eagle vision, the light emanating from it indicating a fresh mark, highlighting the outline of a wolf-like footprint, albeit much larger.

"Father, these Beowolf prints are fresh." Connor said, attracting the attention of his comrades.

"Strange. I assumed that no Beowolf should be able to grow to this size." Altaïr said, noting the abnormal size of the footprint.

"Well then, isn't that what we're here to uncover, gentlemen? Come along now." Haytham asked, motioning the others to follow his lead.

Exiting the room via another door, the group found themselves in a much larger space. The room was incredibly vast and empty, and above them, they could see balconies overhead, with large metal doors positioned opposite each other on the walls.

"Testing room?" Edward muttered as he read the words on the walls. Around them were cages of some sort, each made of reinforced glass and bearing the logo for Merlot Industries.

Suddenly, a loud roar shook the room, causing everyone to turn towards one of the gates, which was partly open because of the broken door. Sensing the dark presence approaching, everyone pulled out their weapons ready for a fight.

"What was that?" Ezio asked his teammates.

Before anyone could answer him, a massive clawed hand reached out from the gate, gripping the door. A second hand grasped the other, and the creature began to push the two doors apart. Tearing them off their hinges, Team ACEE gawked at the monster before them.

Emerging from the gates was what appeared to be a Beowolf, but its body was as built as an Ursa's and it had the size of an Alpha. Green crystalline spikes jutted from its back and instead of the normal red glow a Grimm would have, a bright green flashed in the creature's eyes and in veins along its body.

"I only work with the best. I hope you won't mind to prove you can exceed my standards." Haytham said calmly as he drew his sabre.

With a loud roar, the mutated beast charged, followed by a large horde of other Grimm bursting from the gate. The group steadied themselves before rushing to attack in return.

Altaïr ran back while hiding himself from the Grimm with his semblance and attempted to climb up to the balcony. Reaching for grooves and lights in the walls, he climber higher and reached the top. Pulling out his crossbow, he fired arrow after arrow down at the swarm, being sure to hit a target with each shot. After emptying his clip, Altaïr clicked a button on his weapon, causing each arrow shot to explode in unison, killing his targets and any Grimm nearby.

Leaping down on two Creeps, pinning them down with his hidden blades, Altaïr then pulled out his sword and joined in the fray.

Ezio was absolutely no pushover, as he wielded his sword like an artist with his brush. As a Beowolf tried to pounce, Ezio slid under it, running his sword's blade down its underside, spilling its innards out. He then spun back up on his feet and flicked a handful of throwing knives in front of him, felling several Beowolves with a clean hit on the throat.

Slashing down, he cut down an Ursa and then he raised an arm to block a Beowolf's paw, leaving him open to stab the Grimm in the neck with his hidden blade before finishing it with a shot from his hidden gun.

Connor moved like a feral predator through the horde, dispatching his enemies with swift, yet brutal force. Connor dual-wielded his tomahawk with his pivot blade, holding it in a reverse-grip like a dagger. Connor ran up to the pack, spinning to the right to avoid a swipe from an Ursa, allowing him to slash the Grimm's side with his hidden blade and to use his momentum to slam his tomahawk into its skull, driving through the bony faceplate to draw blood.

A Beowolf tried to slash at Connor with its claws, but Connor ducked to dodge the attack and lunged at the Grimm, chopping his axe into the wolf's head repeatedly. Seeing more Grimm coming towards him, Connor stood his ground. A Creep tried to bite down on him, but Connor swung up with his tomahawk, throwing the creature backwards into the other attackers with its jaw split down the middle, leaving Altaïr to eliminate them quickly with an explosive arrow.

Yet another Grimm fell as Edward fired a bullet between its eyes. Edward fired again twice to his right with a second pistol, killing an Ursa with two shots to the chest. As a large Ursa Major bounded his way, Edward threw his empty guns aside and drew his swords.

The massive beast tried to slam down on him with both paws, but Edward rolled to the side, shooting twice at the Ursa, causing it to growl in pain. Swiping to the side, the Ursa tried a second attack, only for Edward to lunge towards the giant bear, both swords raised. Bringing his blades down, Edward managed to cut two deep wounds into the Ursa. Before the Ursa Major could attack again, Edward quickly stabbed his swords into the wounds and unloaded his clips, destroying the Ursa's insides and killing it in an instant.

Once the rest of the Grimm were dead, they turned their attention to the monster before them. Haytham only stared the beast down menacingly, his cold gaze boring into the Beowolf's soul (should it have had one in the first place) with his sword held in one hand calmly.

As the mutant Grimm ran towards Haytham, Haytham simply stood with his breaths long and drawn. As the Beowolf brought its claws down to slam down on Haytham, he swerved to the side and slashed into the Grimm's armpit, making the limb hang loosely. Using his speed, Haytham then drew a long cut across the Grimm's back before finishing with a stab into the Beowolf's thigh, crippling the creature.

The mutant Beowolf roared in pain, then turned around to clamp its jaws around the Commander. Seeing his chance, Haytham pulled out his pistol and fired into the Beowolf's open maw.

As Haytham put away his pistol and dusted off his coat, the mutant Grimm fell dead. After a hard battle, everybody put away their weapons to breathe. Everybody exhaustedly walked over to Haytham, who was holding a green crystal in his hand.

"Curious…" Haytham muttered as he observed the glowing shard.

"What is the matter, sir?" Altaïr asked.

"It would appear that Merlot has been discovering much more than we anticipate." Haytham answered.

 **Subway Tunnels, Mountain Glenn**

Yang descended into the train car, followed by Weiss and Blake. Looking down the ominous hallway of the train car, they drew their weapons with sweat lining their brows.

"I guess this is what we trained for…" Yang said.

Weiss then reached into her pocket, pulling out a multi-dust pistol clip. "Here. You'll need this." She said, passing it to Blake, who took the clip with a nod, loading it into Gambol Shroud.

Once everyone was ready, Yang, Blake and Weiss ran down to the next car, only to stop when a bright figure descended from the roof of the train car in front of them with a loud thud.

Yang leaned in for a closer look and saw that it was the same girl who Torchwick had escaped with that night. Neo raised her head to meet the girls' gazes with a sinister grin, her eyes a dark brown.

Clenching her fists in memory of that night before, Yang said to her teammates, "You two go on ahead. This one's mine."

Nodding, Weiss and Blake ran past Neo to the next car as Yang fired a shell at Neo, who simply flipped backwards to dodge the blow.

Walking up to Neo, Yang now saw how much taller she was compared to the diminutive girl, who looked up to meet her gaze with different-colored eyes blinking at her with a mischievous smirk.

Yang threw her arm back to try and punch her, but before she knew it, she was staggering backwards and saw Neo unfurling her parasol with a confident grin.

Clenching her teeth in anger, Yang ran up to Neo throwing a volley of punches and kicks, but much to her surprise, the girl nonchalantly managed to dodge all her hits seamlessly before proceeding to block a couple of punches and a kick with her parasol and delivered a swift kick to her leg, sending Yang to the ground.

Getting up, Yang barely dodged a dropkick from the gangster and moved to try to hit her again, but Neo only grabbed her fist and pulled her in for a kick to the chin and another heel to the gut, throwing Yang backwards.

Yang got up again and turned around to see Neo behind her and shot a shell from Ember Celica, only for Neo to unfold her lacy parasol, blocking the shot, doing the same for following punches and shots from Yang while landing a few quick swipes at her neck as she playfully toyed with the blonde brawler.

Yelling in anger, Yang fired a shot at the floor in front of Neo, only for her to cartwheel backwards and gracefully landed seated on top of a crate with her parasol held behind her. Yang growled. Nobody toyed with Yang Xiao Long. One way or another, she was going to pummel this little bitch to the ground.

 **Meanwhile…**

In the next car, Blake and Weiss ran in a break for the control room, but as they were running, they couldn't help but feel unsettled.

"Do you feel that?" Blake asked her teammate.

"Feel what?" Weiss asked in reply.

"I… don't know. Something bad's coming. Be alert." Blake said, shrugging it off.

Suddenly, Blake's faunus senses began to scream bloody murder as she could feel the dark presence in the room. Turning around with Gambol Shroud, she could feel the grinding of metal against metal as she came face-to-face with a masked figure in black.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you girls don't have tickets." It said with a sinister voice.

Pushing him off, Blake saw he wore what was definitely a black trench coat, but it looked more fitting to call it a robe. He wore a black stovepipe on his head and in his hands he held two shining daggers, the blades seemingly whirring like a chainsaw blade. But what seemed to tick Blake's instincts most was that mask, or mostly what appeared to be under it.

His breaths were short and ragged, almost resembling the growl of an animal, and under the mask, she could catch glimpse of glowing red eyes. Even Weiss could feel the evil aura that surrounded their opponent, but Weiss turned to Blake.

"You go on ahead! I got this!"

With this, Blake nodded and ran ahead to the next car. Jack pulled out his revolver and aimed it at Blake, but before he could fire, Weiss swung at him with Myrtenaster, only for him to deflect the hit with his dagger. But soon, Weiss found herself to be on the defensive quite quickly as Jack barreled down on her with quick and violent swipes and thrusts with his daggers.

Ducking under a swing and stepping back from a shanking thrust, Weiss burst towards Jack with a glyph, hoping her speed could catch him off-guard, but Jack sneered as he reached out with a gloved hand.

Pulling Weiss up to his face to meet his eye by her collar, Jack released a jarring roar from the bottom of his lungs. All of a sudden, Weiss could feel her heart stop beating for a single terrifying second as her entire body was entrapped in a feeling of pure terror unlike any she could ever comprehend. Whatever this person was, he was definitely no ordinary man.

When Weiss came to her senses, she felt a sudden sharp pain in her torso. Looking down, she saw that much to her surprise, her attacker had managed to stab her three times without her noticing. Flipping upwards with a kick, Weiss broke free from his grasp and used a glyph in mid-air to ram Jack down to his feet.

Standing up, Weiss staggered as she clutched her side in pain, her palms stained with her own blood. Summoning her aura, Weiss managed to hold back the pain enough for her to stand upright.

Jack began to rise to his own feet with a deep cackle. "Do you have any idea how many men and women on this train would die to be in my place right now?"

Weiss gave no answer and raised Myrtenaster, ready for the fight of her life.

 **Meanwhile…**

Blake ran down the train car and kicked down the door to the control room, ready to end this.

And sure enough, there stood Roman Torchwick, turning his head to see her. Twirling his cane with his finger, Roman grinned.

"Hello, kitty cat! You miss me? Y'know, we really gotta stop meeting like this. People are gonna talk."

Growling with bared teeth, Blake sprinted toward Roman, the latter groaning and stepping forward slowly.

Roman stared ahead at the young faunus. She was running in a straight line, practically leaving herself open. Chuckling to himself, Roman raised his cane to beat her down.

However, Blake cast a shadow clone flaming with fire dust as she rolled under Roman. As Roman struck the decoy, next thing he knew he was flying up to the ceiling from a fiery explosion.

Blake drew her sword and sheath, swinging both blades into Roman's body before both of them landed. Groaning, Roman rose up again stroking his head.

Blake landed gracefully and held both blades out in a steady stance. Roman frowned and shot a flare at Blake, trying to blow her to pieces. But Blake cast another copy, this time rock hard from earth dust. The flare hit the stone statue, blowing apart into smithereens.

Blake used this opening to leap over to Roman. Roman attempted to hit her before she landed, only for Blake to counter him by casting a shadow clone so she could land in front of him.

Both fighters then furiously clashed weapons, Roman using his cane to deflect and strike back, and Blake aggressively spinning her swords, trying to push Roman to his limits and exploit any opening.

Swiping at his feet, Roman sneered as he raised his cane, ready to strike her in the back of the head before she could get back up, only for the cat faunus to cast a shadow clone enhanced with ice dust, holding Roman's cane in place and trapping it within the ice statue.

Struggling to pull his weapon free, Blake saw this opportunity and raised Gambol Shroud, channeling all her aura into her arms as she brought the blade down. As the sword slammed into the ground, an arc of pure energy glowing a brilliant purple shot from the blade, streaking across the floor and slicing into Roman and throwing him across the room.

Disoriented, Roman weakly tried to get up, only for Blake to stomp her boot down on his chest, pinning him down to the floor and then she pointed Gambol Shroud at his head, ensuring he couldn't fight back.

Roman then laughed. "Why are we fighting? I saw you at the rally. We're on the same side and you know it."

 **Merlot Industries, Unknown Branch**

Haytham raised his hand, signaling his team to stop.

Altaïr saw they had stopped in front of a metal door, guarded by a key card lock. He read the sign above the door, repeating the words in his mouth.

"Main laboratory. This is definitely what we're looking for." He said.

Haytham then ran his hand across the door. Seeing that he didn't have a key card, he sighed. "Alright, you gentlemen are to figure out a way to enter this room."

"What?" Edward asked.

"If you cannot get past a locked door, then I can hardly imagine what that says about your skills as assassins." Haytham bluntly replied.

Altaïr stepped forward to the door. He felt the door with his palm as he scanned it with his eagle vision. He knocked on the metal surface and realized that the door was actually destructible with enough force.

"Stand back." Altaïr said to everyone, who heeded his warning.

Raising his crossbow, he emptied his clip onto the door and pressed the detonator. Everybody covered their ears in the ensuing explosion, which blew away the door with a metallic clang as it flew off the hinges and into the room.

Opening his eyes, Altaïr entered the room. He looked around at his surroundings to see a large room with several flickering lights overhead. In one corner of the room was a lab table with all kinds of beakers and vials of some sort of green substance as well as a whiteboard covered in all sorts of equations, but as Altaïr flipped it around, he saw something that made his hair stand on end.

Written on the other side was erratic and incoherent strokes made by marker, and a red splatter that seemed to spell out words. Using his Eagle Vision, Altaïr managed to highlight the blood and began to read under his breath. "Thank you bastard?"

"Strange…" Altaïr pondered to himself.

Ezio looked over to the center of the room to see what seemed to be an upright stretcher encased in a glass chamber, the kinds used in places like insane asylums. Just looking at it gave Ezio chills. Scanning the object, Ezio saw that instead of straps, metal clamps were where the arms and legs should have been, as if whatever was being held there wasn't meant to be getting out.

He could also see what appeared to be tubes attached to the neckpiece. Looking closer, Ezio saw that the tubes were connected to two tanks. One was the same green substance that they had found in the lab, and the other was a strange matter.

The substance was an oily black, and appeared to be smoking constantly. But what unsettled Ezio the most was how the fluid was constantly churning as if it was alive.

What had the mad doctor been doing here?

"Father?" Connor's voice rang out throughout the room, grabbing everyone's attention.

"What's this?" Connor asked, referring to a large computer sitting in the corner of the room.

Haytham paused and placed his hands on the keyboard. "Hang on…"

Haytham took the mouse and moved it as the screen came to life. Everybody saw a large alert covering the screen.

AN ERROR HAS OCCURRED. PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER.

Haytham closed the alert and looked over the desktop. Soon, his eyes fell upon a particular folder. As he opened it and looked over the first file, his eyes widened.

"Good lord…"

He opened a video file, where a camera was focusing in on what appeared to be a child strapped to the stretcher. He saw that without a doubt, he was growling like a caged animal.

Suddenly, Dr. Merlot's face entered the screen. "Alright… Day 7 of experimentation. The subject appears to be healthy. The peculiar substance I have discovered seems to act rather violently in humans, but the subject does not perish. The subject displays many traits of negativity and aggression towards humans." He droned on as the boy screamed at him through the glass.

"Jaysus…" Edward gaped as they opened another file.

"Day 30, the subject has begun to deform physically and the physical appearance is altering. The sclera has blackened, and the irises appear to be luminescent, glowing a red color. The pigmentation of the skin has been changing as well, and is turning white. The veins are also becoming more visible. This is a remarkable development, but I must determine if the metamorphosis can escalate further."

The assassins looked in horror at what the test subject had become. The skin was paling, his eyes an abnormal black and red, and veins were crawling up his neck as he continued to scream.

The assassins were silent and only waited to see the last file. "Day 162, the test subject has not matured further since the last report. I will be applying a newly synthesized serum that has been tested on Grimm test subjects."

They watched later as Merlot pumped the tubes with the green substance they found. The test subject screeched again as the liquid entered his neck, but soon he stopped. His eyes cocked to the side to glare at the doctor, and then he released a powerful screech unlike anything the assassins had heard any human do before.

The building began to rumble with the sounds of Beowolves and Ursa repeating his call, and they could hear faint noises coming from the outside of the building that were undoubtedly something much bigger.

They saw Merlot desperately trying to escape the lab and salvaging his work, working on his computer until they saw a hand grab him from behind before the screen cut to black.

Nobody said a word as Haytham continued to study the green crystal in his hand.

" _What have you made here, you madman?_ " Haytham thought inwardly as he cradled the fragment in his hand, his eyes locked on the emerald glow.

 **Subway Tunnels, Mountain Glenn**

Weiss glared at the man in front of him, gripping both daggers in his hand tightly and his scarlet eyes literally glowing with bloodlust.

Raising her sword and drawing a circle, she saw as Jack ran up to her with a snarl, holding both his knives in his hand, only to hit a blue energy barrier as he got close to the girl.

Growling in anger, Jack began to furiously hack away at the shield with his knives, only for Weiss to push him back with a blast of dust from her rapier. Jack then spun around, holding a knife in a reverse grip, trying to tag Weiss, but she was able to block his arm with Myrtenaster and flip above him to swipe at his face.

Gritting his teeth, Jack threw a set of throwing knives Weiss's way, but a quick flip backwards saved Weiss by a hair's length.

Using her chance to attack, Weiss thrust with her blade, but Jack was quick to block with a knife as the two fighters began to clash blades again.

Jack swiped left and right with both daggers, but Weiss stepped back quickly, but was caught off-guard when Jack used his momentum to not swing a backhanded attack her way, but throw the dagger at her, hitting her in the side.

In retaliation, Weiss used her glyphs to speed left and right, tagging Jack with her sword and kicked him in the jaw, disorienting him momentarily.

Using this opening, she focused the aura in her body and held Myrtenaster close. A time dilation glyph appeared beneath her feet, resembling a clock with hands turning rapidly.

Jack could see as she ran towards him that this time she was faster than before. Weiss raised her hand, casting multiple glyphs surrounding Jack. Jack growled and pulled out his revolver, firing several shots the heiress's way, only for her to swiftly dodge under the glyph's effects.

Bursting forward, Weiss hit Jack with her blade, and bouncing off a glyph, she hit him again, and again at rapid speed as Jack was tossed and juggled in the air.

Bouncing off of the ceiling, Weiss slammed Jack down on his knees and jumped up again to finish him, but did not realize that this was exactly where he wanted her.

Suddenly, Jack released that inhuman scream from before, snapping Weiss's nerves and making her lose her composure briefly enough for him to tag her with a dagger.

Slamming her down to the floor, she bounced back up, letting Jack stab her repeatedly as he hacked away at her aura with a flurry of slashes and stabs.

Weiss could do nothing as her pain prevented her from fighting back as she saw Jack toss her up into the air and pull out a handful of throwing knives.

 **Meanwhile…**

Yang glared at Neo, absolutely annoyed at how she wasn't even breaking a sweat as she sat ahead of her, holding her parasol in a relaxed position.

Yang reeled back a fist to hit her again, but Neo swung her parasol around, throwing her fist aside and whirling her nimble body upwards to deflect Yang's punches with swift kicks, pushing her back.

Running towards Neo with a fist, Yang took a shot at her with her gauntlets, which Neo blocked easily with her parasol, before using the parasol to smack aside her punches.

Throwing a kick Yang's way, she saw the move and plucked her foot from the air and spun her body around, trying to throw her to the ground, but the petite woman flipped gracefully with a perfect landing.

Grinning, Neo then proceeded to run up Yang's body, wrapping her legs around her arm. Throwing her weight forward with a flip, she threw Yang upwards to the ceiling, and with a metallic thunk, Yang crashed to the floor unconscious.

In the control room, Blake gritted her teeth as she listened to Roman's taunts at the end of her sword.

"Do you really think that a little bow on top's gonna make people forget who you are? What you've done?"

Blake's eyes flared with dark memories and frustration. She fought for the White Fang, but now when she remembered what she had done for them, she couldn't shake the unbearable regret for her actions since she left.

What Roman was saying undoubtedly rang truth for her, but as her mind cleared, she remembered everything else. Connor. Sun. Her teammates. She was fighting for a different cause, and people would be fighting with her.

"So, what's it gonna be, Blake?"

Fed up with his talking, Blake quickly kicked him across the face, knocking him out for good before running back to assist Weiss.

 **Meanwhile…**

Neo grasped the handle of her parasol as she calmly strode over to Yang's unconscious body.

Pulling out a long, but thin blade, she gazed over her features silently, before flipping the blade in her hand and raising the weapon in line with Yang's chest with a maniacal grin.

But with the deep hum ringing throughout the train car, Neo immediately turned her head to assess the threat, only to be knocked back by two lightning swift slashes by a dark figure.

Regaining her senses, Neo's eyes flashed a pale white as she saw her attacker. The figure was dressed in a black and red robe, undoubtedly a woman with long black hair spiking outwards, with scale armor covering her arms and a short skirt embroidered with what appeared to be black feathers.

The skirt exposed her legs that weren't covered by her leggings, and in her hands she grasped a large scabbard. The most eerie part of her attire was that her face was covered by a mask resembling Grimm features, much like the White Fang's, albeit much more fearsome in appearance, complete with red markings and four eye slits.

Under the mask, Neo could see blood-red eyes staring into her soul with an ice-cold gaze as the mysterious figure pulled out her weapon, her scabbard turning through different chambers of dust. Her sword was abnormally large, yet thin and light in appearance. The blade curved with a single edge and glowed with an ethereal scarlet.

Knowing exactly who she was dealing with, Neo quickly unfurled her parasol and she was gone in the blink of an eye.

The woman relaxed her stance once Neo was gone, then turned her attention to Yang. Staring apathetically, she flicked the blade in her hand, ripping a swirling red hole into the space.

Sheathing her weapon, she began to walk into the portal. Yang then began to groan as she came to her senses. Blinking her eyes heavily, she caught a brief glimpse of her savior before she disappeared from sight completely once her vision cleared.

Looking around her to see herself completely alone, Yang blinked twice before running to catch up with her team.

 **Meanwhile…**

Outside, Ruby and Oobleck studied their opponent's movements as they stood on either side of a giant Paladin.

The massive mech suit raised its mighty fists to slam down on the teacher, only for him to disappear in a burst of flames and climb up to the top of the mech's head, scorching it with his flamethrower/thermos.

Ruby raised Crescent Rose with her hand on the lever, and Oobleck aimed his own weapon. Both fired at the legs, and the ensuing explosion managed to blow the Paladin off of the train and send it crashing into the tunnel's walls.

Ruby then eagerly waited for Oobleck to continue on, but Oobleck spoke up. "Ruby! You go on ahead!"

"B-but-" Ruby stammered before Oobleck stopped her.

"Don't worry, Ruby. I think it's time… I taught them a lesson!" Oobleck said as he ran back to deal with the enemies behind them.

Ruby was about to run ahead, when she heard Zwei whimpering at her feet. Smiling she merely said to the dog, "Go."

With this, Zwei brightened up with his tail wagging as he followed Oobleck to deal with the remaining Paladins.

Ruby then ran and found Weiss, Blake and Yang confronting Jack the Ripper as he merely stood in front of them, completely unarmed as his coat flowed in the wind.

Knowing what he was capable of, Weiss raised her weapon, cuing the others to do the same. But Jack merely snickered.

"Valiant efforts from youths such as yourselves, but you're already too late." Jack said as he disappeared with a smoke bomb.

Ruby's eyes then widened to see the tunnel's end, where the tracks literally stopped at a concrete wall.

Ruby then nodded to Weiss, who did the same, cuing her to slam her weapon into the ground, encasing them all in an icy crystal.

Everything that happened next was a complete blur. After the sharp and explosive impact of the train crash, Ruby's head spun like a hurricane, and her brain felt like it was being shocked by lightning. Her ears rung, muffling the sounds of sirens, screaming and the growls of Grimm.

What had they done now?

 **Up next: BREACH!**

 **HEYYYYYYYyyyyyyyyyyy… Been a while, folks! ANYWAY, let's cut the bullshit and head to the chase. RWBY. Volume. 5. Is FUCKING HERE. AAAAAAAAAAAAAA-(timeskip) Anyways, so I'll admit it, I've been procrastinating a bit more than I should've, since when I haven't been worrying about homework, I'm stuck on my ass playing TF2 (PYRO UPDATE FINALLY CAME WHOOOOOO-), so sue me. So anyways guys, I'm just really happy to get this part over with, since I'm really excited to do the Breach episode, since I'll finally get to write a giant mosh pit of combat and kicking ass with all the characters! Anyways, really excited, really pumped and I REALLY want to hear you guy's opinions on it! Personally, I think it's sucked that I've been getting less reviews lately. Even if it's criticism, I'm just happy to hear what you guys think! So stay awesome, leave your thoughts and I'll see you… NEXT TIME! BYE-BYE!**

 **merendinoemiliano: Many thanks, my dude.**

 **RemaGeek: Really cool to know you've bothered checking back! Thanks!**

 **Guest: Apparently so, brada.**

 **AmethystPone: You know, you are absolutely correct. And by the way, I understand. The AC series has kinda fallen off in recent years, and one can only hope that Origins can at least be decent.**

 **Guest: Of course not, fool.** **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

 **Guest: He can either choose to summon three to move independently, or one giant avatar around him.**

 **Guest: Yes. In WOR, it's explained that Vacuo is a much less restrained place than the other kingdoms, a place where Assassin ideology runs free. Atlas is a much more orderly place, and it seems that the Templars would be more active in controlling the society from the higher classes.**


	25. Calm Before the Storm

**Team JNPR's Dorm, Beacon Academy**

Jaune stirred in his sleep, tossing and turning in his Pumpkin Pete onesie.

The next morning, they would be setting off on their first official mission as huntsmen and huntresses, and if anything, Jaune was nervous, yet excited to test out everything he'd learned from his friends.

Pyrrha and Altaïr were very skilled with a sword, he'd give them that. Now he was confident that long hours of practice were going to be worth it. He'd even been scoring a few victories in Glynda's class.

Suddenly, his scroll lit up, playing a tacky ringtone. Jaune grumbled and turned his head in his pillow unconsciously without waking up.

On the other side of the room, Nora began to stir to the annoying sound and threw her pillow over her head. "Aaaaaarrrgh… Make it stahhhhhhhpp..." She groaned loudly.

On the other hand, Pyrrha and Ren sprang up from bed and subconsciously assumed fighting stances while yelling in panic, only to stop a split-second later once they saw the scroll.

"Err… Jaune?..." Pyrrha said as she poked her boyfriend in the cheek, causing him to stir.

Jaune then finally woke up with a yawn and turned to direct his attention to his scroll, still ringing. Picking it up, he saw that Ruby was calling.

Pressing the green button, he brought the device to his ear.

"Uhh… hello?" Jaune asked, only to have his eardrums blasted by the sound of loud static before the call quickly cancelled.

"Ruby?..." Jaune muttered, wondering what could have happened to his friend.

 **Later that evening…**

Several hours later, Team JNPR walked through the courtyard of the school, heading over to catch a Bullhead that would take them on their next mission.

"Jaune, I'm sure they're fine." Pyrrha assured Jaune, who was still worrying about that call Ruby gave him that morning.

"You think?" Jaune asked his partner skeptically.

"Probably a butt-dial." Nora chirped as she skipped along.

"Team RWBY has always performed exceptionally in the field. I'm confident that they can handle their situation easily. Besides, we should be focusing on our own mission." Ren added.

Jaune listened to his team's words, but couldn't relax. "I-I just… I dunno… I got this feeling, y'know what I mean?" Jaune said, gears in his mind clicking and turning.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha tried to comfort him again, but stopped once a loud siren blared around them.

Everybody's eyes widened when they heard the noise. Looking to each other, they confirmed their fears. The city was under attack by Grimm.

Port, as pretentious as he was had always held drills every other month. He would blare the signal, and everybody was to grab their weapons and fight. Of course, nobody really took this to heart because the odds of Grimm invading Vale were little to nonexistent.

But this was no drill. This was happening now. "Change of plans! Let's go!" Jaune said loudly to his team, cueing them to climb into the Bullhead as fast as they could.

"Take us into the city!" Jaune told the pilot, who nodded and took off.

 **Merlot Industries, Unknown Branch**

Haytham picked up a vial of the peculiar serum from the lab table, observing it closely.

The commander then typed in a few keys on the computer, eventually finding Merlot's files on the serum.

"There. It seems that this facility was built to exploit the island's naturally occurring yield of the chemical." Haytham said.

Edward looked closely at the details of the chemical, and a light bulb lit up above his head.

"Hey, I think I recognize this chemical." He said.

"Do you?"

"It's the same substance used in the Assassin's berserk darts. Nasty things. One shot to the neck and the target hallucinates. Running around in a blind rage killing everything around him until he dies from poisoning." Edward explained.

With this thing, assassinating his targets was a cinch, but he had to admit, he did almost feel sorry for them as they ran around yelling and attacking the person closest to them before falling over and dying.

"Interesting… I should report this to the military as soon as possible to dig for more answers and clear out the Grimm population." Haytham said, putting the vial in his pocket.

"Alright, gentlemen. Our job here is done, but our mission is not over until we return. Come along, now." Haytham began, only to hear his scroll ring.

Picking up, he saw that Ironwood was calling him. Sighing, Haytham answered. "Yes, James? What is it?"

"Kenway! Vale has been breached! We need you here ASAP!" He heard Ironwood practically yell in his ear.

"What?!" Haytham exclaimed in shock.

"We need you to get your students and deal with the situation at city hall right now. Reinforcements are already on the move." And with that, the general hung up.

"What was it?" Ezio asked him.

Haytham turned and answered, "I've just received word that Vale has been invaded by Grimm. We need to move now."

Everyone exchanged looks of shock before hardening in determination. With this, they ran out the door.

 **Meanwhile…**

Looking at the city of Vale from a distance, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury could tell from the pillar of smoke rising from the city as well as the blaring siren that something was wrong.

"You don't think…" Emerald began.

"Sure looks like it." Mercury answered for her.

"But that's still weeks away!" Emerald exclaimed.

The festival was barely even beginning, and the train shouldn't have been moving until they said so. This must've been a blunder on Roman's part.

"So, what do we do?" Mercury asked Cinder.

Cinder's eyes lit up under her ivory locks, before answering with a smile. "We came here as students, and I feel it's time to prove it to them. Get your things ready. We head to city hall as soon as possible."

 **City Hall, Vale**

The entirety of Team RWBY gulped in fear as they held their weapons with shaking hands.

A gigantic horde of Grimm surrounded them, circling them in the center of the square. All sorts of monsters stood waiting, from small Grimm like Ursai and Creeps to massive beasts like Deathstalkers and King Taijitu.

Ruby shivered while grasping her scythe, fear filling her body. However, she held her weapon tight, ready to fight back any and all foes in her path.

Weiss breathed slowly, her sword held in a single hand. Her posture was slow and sure, her feet ready to move at the slightest lunge.

Blake's stance was strong, but her eyes were filled with fear. She had never fought this much Grimm before, but nonetheless, she was ready to show she was no pushover.

Yang felt no fear, only a fighting spirit burning within her. Her gauntlets were armed and her fists raised, ready to burn and demolish anything in her way.

Suddenly, the King Taijitu roared, causing every Grimm in the square to charge at Team RWBY, filling the air with strong bloodlust as their claws scraped the ground and their jaws drooled wildly.

Narrowing their eyes and raising their weapons, Team RWBY prepared for the fight of their lives.

Ruby jumped into the horde with Crescent Rose raised above her head, slamming the massive blade down into the ground and knocking back any and all Grimm around her.

A pack of Beowolves began to surround her, but Ruby smiled and ran, still holding onto her weapon. Raising her legs, she began to kick anything coming close as she spun in a circle, her scythe remaining lodged into the ground (looking like something out of a badly animated movie fight scene).

As the Beowolves dropped to the floor, Ruby flicked a switch on her weapon, altering the barrel of her scythe. Firing in all directions, Ruby filled heads with bullets and chopped up Grimm like a pro.

Yang wasted no time and lunged for the nearest Creep, firing her gauntlets down at the creature, killing it and launching her back into the air.

Using her airtime, Yang unloaded her weapons down at the Grimm below, loud explosions ringing as Yang flew through the air, raining down fire and dust on the horde.

Cocking her gauntlets, she looked behind her to see a flock of Nevermores dive-bombing her. Seeing this too late, Yang was knocked back down to the ground, blowing a large crater into the ground as she crashed.

Blake gritted her teeth, holding Gambol Shroud in both hands and ducked to dodge a swipe from a Beowolf. She then swung the sheath into the Beowolf's snout, nicking away a piece of bone from its face plate, stunning the creature before running her katana through its chine, piercing the head and killing the Beowolf.

Hearing more enemies approaching her from behind, she compacted her katana into a pistol, spinning around and shooting down several Creeps.

Weiss fought hard, her hands and feet moving quicker than her mind could follow. She swiped forward, hitting a couple of Grimm in front of her before turning around to stab a Beowolf in the chest.

Summoning a glyph under her, she spun Myrtenaster's barrel to ice dust. Turning around to see the large pack running towards her, she yelled out a battle cry and formed a large sword construct from the ice dust, sweeping away everything nearby.

Ruby leapt out of the way when Yang sent a car barreling down the street into the pack, only for her to come face-to-face with a massive King Taijitu.

Her eyes widened in fear as the giant snake opened its jaws ready to swallow her whole in single snap, but the muffled boom of an explosion sounded from afar, causing both Ruby and the Grimm to turn their heads towards the noise.

As Ruby squinted her eyes, she could catch glimpse of something flying through the air towards them, leaving behind a pink trail of smoke.

Wait a minute…

"NORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA SMASH!" Nora sailed through the air on her hammer, and locking onto her target, her ever-mischievous grin grew as wide as could be as she gripped Magnhild with both hands and slammed down onto the King Taijitu's head with the force of an earthquake, shattering the beast's skull and killing it in a flash.

Landing on her feet, Nora held her hammer in both hands as Ren and Jaune arrived onto the battlefield, holding their weapons with a ready battle stance.

Pyrrha then landed and raised her blade in the air. "Let's move!" She said to her team, cueing everyone to roll out into battle (except poor Jaune, who grumbled to himself).

"SMACK!" Nora was a monster on the battlefield, swatting Grimm away like they were flies and blowing limbs and body parts everywhere with her grenades.

The whole time, she was laughing and prancing around like a child at a birthday party, demolishing the monsters in her path with a carefree glee.

Ren was a longtime friend of Nora's, but personality-wise, he was her opposite. His face was stone cold as he eliminated his enemies with quick and deadly efficiency.

His knife blades slit the throats of Grimm left and right and peppering bodies with Stormflower's bullets. Suddenly, an Ursa tried to swing a paw at Ren, only for him to swing his pistol into the limb, slicing into the Grimm's flesh and staggering the bearlike creature for a second.

Ren used this opportunity to vault over the Ursa and dig his blades into the Grimm's back and to release a barrage of bullets into its body, killing the Ursa.

Jaune wandered about in the square, looking around him at his friends fighting back the massive herds of Grimm and held his sword and shield in his hand, ready to fight.

"Alright… who's first?" Jaune asked, only to hear a loud thud behind him, as if on cue.

Turning behind him, Jaune's eyes widened in fear to find an Ursa roaring in his face. "O-okay, you're first, huh? N-n-no, t-that's great!" Jaune stammered in fear as his sword shook in his hand.

Pyrrha, on the other hand was slicing up Grimm like a professional, moving her spear like an instrument playing a symphony of death as the blade cut into one Grimm after another.

After finishing off a Creep with Miló, Pyrrha turned to witness Jaune's current predicament as he backed away slowly from the Ursa.

"O-okay, done this before… done this before…" Jaune muttered to himself as he drew a long breath.

"YAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaaAAaaAaaaAAa-"

Raising his sword, Jaune let out a loud battle cry, swinging his blade wildly in the general direction of the Grimm, unable to tell if his even connected or not.

Jaune then stopped and looked in front of him. He saw the Ursa standing there, not moving at all. Jaune did the same, not knowing what do to or how to react.

But then, blood began to seep from slits cut open in the Ursa's body, and the Grimm fell over on its back, dead. Seeing Jaune finally able to fight on his own, Pyrrha smiled with pride. She and Altaïr's hard work was worth it after all.

"Nobody move! Junior detectives!"

Sun and Neptune entered the square, holding out their badges and striking dramatic poses.

"We have badges, so you know it's official!" Neptune added, fist-bumping his partner.

"Yeah, that's adorable." Jacob said from behind them, pushing Neptune aside with his team and a band of Rooks behind him.

"Look lively, men! We have a kingdom to protect!" Jacob proclaimed loudly, raising his kukri in the air as the men charged.

Jacob sprinted at an Ursa with his shoulder out, landing a nice stunning blow to the chest, pushing the beast back. Pulling out his kukri, he pushed the blade up its chin, killing the Ursa before drawing his attention to a flock of Nevermores dive-bombing him.

Jumping up to dodge the first bird, Jacob fired his grappling hook at the birds, managing to hook onto one of the Nevermores, lifting him into the air as the birds lifted off.

Turning his blade into a revolver, Jacob fired three shots at a giant raven's wings, crippling it and sending it plummeting back down to the ground. As the wire rolled back into his gauntlet, Jacob managed to dig his kukri into the Nevermore's body, grinning as he saw the rest of the flock notice him.

The group of avian Grimm turned towards him and dove in for the kill, but before they could get him, Jacob yanked out his grappling hook, sending him falling down through the air, leading the rest of the flock to crash into the bird he had grabbed onto.

Shifting his position, Jacob stretched out his arms and flipped in mid-air so he fell on his back into a conveniently placed trashcan in an alley below.

Arno and Adéwalé ran past the gangsters and combat students fighting with Grimm and chose their targets. Arno leapt over a Beowolf, flipping forward with hands on the Beowolf's neck, flicking his hidden blade down as he moved, killing it as he moved forward.

Adé pulled out his machete and chopped into the throat of an Ursa, spraying blood out of the neck before heaving the blade into a charging Creep's head, piercing the bone mask and cutting into the skull.

Arno then pulled out his guillotine gun, decapitating another Beowolf and cleaving down into an Ursa's skull before firing his weapon, lobbing a piping hot mortar shell into the air and blowing apart a pack of Creeps. As a Beowolf tried to attack Arno from behind, Arno simply raised his arm and shot his phantom blade, hitting the throat and killing the beast on the spot.

Adé twisted his weapon, turning it into a two-handed blunderbuss. Shooting to his right, he shredded an Ursa's head, blowing the flesh off of one side of its face, before firing in front of him at two Beowolves, knocking them down with a pink mist.

Seeing a Nevermore coming toward him, Arno turned his weapon back and waited. The Nevermore dove beak-first at Adé, only for him to jump with a swing of his blade, cutting into the wing bone and severing the limb. The bird screeched in pain as it fell to the ground, unable to fight back as Adé finished it with his hidden blade.

Evie saw her brother's shenanigans ensue from the ground and sighed to herself while raising her hood. Shooting a Creep in the head with her rifle, she aimed at an Ursa, peppering it with bullets. Turning to see an Alpha Beowolf coming towards her, Evie unsheathed her cane-sword and flipped backwards to evade the Grimm's strikes.

Using her sword to attack, she smacked the Grimm across the head to stun it before slashing the back twice, causing the Beowolf to growl in pain. Turning around to chomp down on Evie, the Beowolf turned with jaws open wide, only for Evie to slam the cane down on the Beowolf, causing its head to crash on the ground, leaving her to finish it by stabbing the wolf to the ground by its neck.

Suddenly, the loud noise of an airship caught the attention of everyone in the battlefield. Rising over the skyline, they didn't just see an airship, but the entire damn fleet soaring above them, raining down fire and dust onto the horde of Grimm.

A Bullhead descended from the fleet, its doors opening to reveal Team ACEE. Spotting Team RWBY down below, Edward yelled out, "HEY! FORGOT TO INVITE US TO THE PARTY?!"

All of the carrier ships above then opened their hatches, causing hundreds of shiny new Atlesian Knights to drop from the ships, alongside the team of Assassins, who each descended with a leap of faith.

The robots stormed the square, shooting down every Grimm in sight as more and more poured into the city. No matter how many Grimm fell, more and more seemed to emerge.

Altaïr rose up and entered the battle, pulling out his sword. Slitting the neck of a Beowolf, he shot an arrow above him, beside him and ahead of him, detonating the arrows to finish all three Grimm.

Spinning to cut open an Ursa's throat with his hidden blade, the young Master Assassin raised his sword to push off a Nevermore diving at him with its talons out. As it flew up, it failed to notice Altaïr had planted an arrow into its body before it blew into a cloud of smoke and blood.

Ezio ran into the crowd, pushing aside an Atlesian Knight to pin down a Beowolf with his hidden blade and raising his pistol at an Ursa, blowing a hole into its head with a high-caliber dust round. Grabbing a Beowolf's paw as it tried to swipe down on him, Ezio used this opportunity to stab his hidden blade into its chest repeatedly, finishing it with his hidden gun.

Unsheathing his sword and knife, Ezio threw a throwing knife at a Nevermore above and decapitated a pouncing Creep with his sword. Seeing an Ursa Major appear in front of him, he braced himself, only for Connor to tackle the great creature, his tomahawk plunged into its side. Nodding, he moved on to take down more Grimm.

Connor swerved to the side, dodging the powerful swing of the enraged bear Grimm, spinning himself to slam his axe blade into the Grimm's limb, shattering bone. Roaring in agony, the Ursa Major slammed its paws into the ground, trying to nail Connor, who only jumped back and fired three dust-tipped arrows into its face with his bow. The arrows hit the Grimm in the face, exploding and leaving a bloody stump where the head used to be.

Edward's grin grew as he drew his swords, heaving his blades into a small Creep below him before proceeding to rain volleys of fire down on the pack of Grimm charging at him. Then, a Nevermore plucked him from the ground, ensnaring the pirate in its talons.

Struggling against the giant bird, he flicked open his hidden blades and nicked the leg of the Nevermore, causing it to caw in pain, releasing Edward as he used a free hand to pierce its body with a rope dart. Leaping up on the bird's back, he held on for dear life as the Grimm flew erratically in every direction, trying to throw him off. Instead, Edward unsheathed one of his swords and stabbed it into the creature's back, just above the heart. Grinning, Edward opened fire, destroying the bird's heart and causing it to fall back down to the street.

Meanwhile, Cinder and her team had just arrived on the battlefield. Nodding to her subordinates, Cinder walked off to deal with any stray Grimm, as did they.

Mercury ran up to a Boarbatusk, landing a crippling kick to the face, firing off a shotgun shell from his prosthetic leg as he did. This caused the pig-like Grimm to fly backwards, letting Mercury rise and slam down on its vulnerable belly with a dropkick.

Seeing a pack of Beowolves coming toward him, Mercury only smiled as he kicked a Beowolf in the face as it came close, and then another and another with his momentum, spinning himself in a circle as he fired off round after round of wind dust from his legs. As he slammed down his with his boots, the dust he fired off did the same, killing anything that was around him.

Emerald walked calmly through the street, as if it were just another day in the city. A group of Ursai spotted her and began charging her. Emerald simply stared with maroon eyes and pulled out her firearms. Opening fire, the creatures in front of her were reduced to mere corpses riddled with green bullets.

However, her eyes widened to see the large Ursa Major coming toward her, its back brimming with bone quills. Flicking her weapons in her hands, she deployed her blades, landing clean hits along the Grimm's sides. However, the Ursa only seemed to get angrier as it bounded toward Emerald, paws raised. Emerald twisted her blades and revealed her kusarigama chains, extending her reach. Heaving her blades in front of her, Emerald fended off the Ursa with two swipes before jumping up to evade another attempt, using her airtime to rake the back of the bear-like creature and killing it.

Jack had just arrived on the scene, and released a screech, summoning a small Nevermore that perched on his gauntlet-clad arm.

By whatever inhuman way Grimm are able to communicate amongst another, Jack managed to relay orders to the bird-like Grimm, which promptly took off towards the country over the borders of the city, attracting other Grimm to the city to fight.

However, in the middle of the square, Ruby began to tire as more Grimm kept advancing into the city. "There's too many of them!"

"Keep fighting!" Yang yelled out in response.

However, Jacob received an alert from his scroll, causing him to pull out his kukri from a fresh Beowolf corpse and stare with eyes widened at who had sent him the text.

Looking over the next building to confirm his suspicions, Jacob grinned to see another Bullhead arrive, this time carrying Peter Port as well as four elder combat students. Looks like the cavalry had arrived.

"Lo and behold, lads. Team CFVY's here to save the day." Jacob jokingly said out loud.

He then typed in his scroll, "TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH."

Coco felt her scroll vibrate and used her free hand to check the text, causing her to laugh lightly to herself at Jacob's antics. Nodding to her team, Coco jumped from the Bullhead alongside Fox, Yatsuhashi and Velvet.

As Yatsuhashi landed, he rose slowly, looking around him at the large group of Grimm encircling him. The seven-foot tall samurai did not change his stoic expression and only pulled out his broadsword.

Raising the blade, he heaved the weapon down on the ground, blowing away anything around him as the ground beneath him exploded into a crater with debris flying everywhere.

In the square, Fox and Velvet advanced, the lightweights of the team knocking back Grimm with flying kicks. After putting down a Beowolf, the dark-skinned boy known as Fox Alistair looked ahead of him, his milky white eyes widening to see an Ursa Major approaching him.

Narrowing his gaze, Fox sprinted towards the monster and flipped it into the air with a kick before proceeding to juggle it with relentless slashes and strikes from his arm blades. Fox then channeled his aura into his arms and punched the Ursa back with an aura-infused strike, pushing the Ursa back and causing its body to blow up like a balloon before bursting, shooting bone spikes everywhere, killing all nearby Grimm.

Velvet ducked for cover with Yatsuhashi who took those hits like the gigantic flesh wall of a man he was, while their fashionably dressed leader strutted through the square, swatting away any stray bone spikes coming her way.

"Nice hustle, Fox. Good job." Coco said to her teammate with a smirk, giving him a pat on the rump for good measure.

But beneath her shades, she only had eyes for the massive Beowolf in front of her. Looking to the side of the road at a destroyed block, she frowned and lowered her sunglasses to look at the Grimm in front of her.

"You just destroyed my favorite clothing store. During the sale, no less." She said to the confused Beowolf, before spitting on the ground with a deadly aura enveloping her.

"Prepare to die."

The Beowolf roared and tried to swipe a claw at her, only for Coco to smack it away with her purse before delivering a sharp kick between its legs (Which confuses me because there's literally nothing there with Grimm).

Looking down at the pained creature with a cold stare, Coco then brought her purse up and slammed it down on the Grimm's head with force so hard, it was able to hammer the wolf into the ground.

Looking ahead of her to see a pack of Beowolves accompanied by a Deathstalker, she fipped backwards to evade attacks from the Beowolves before clubbing them away with her purse.

Leaping back to avoid a Deathstalker's stinger, she spotted Velvet with one hand on her bag. "Whoa, what're you doing?"

"You spent all semester building that up! Don't waste it here." Coco said to Velvet, who reluctantly did as she was told as Coco removed her purse, changing it into a massive behemoth of a minigun.

Revving Deadshot up, Coco smirked as she opened fire, the rain of bullets shredding the Deathstalker into chunks of flesh in mere seconds. She then aimed her minigun at the pack charging her, the spray of bullets cutting the Grimm down like weeds.

The fashionista looked above her to see a flock of Nevermores flying ahead and continued to hold down her trigger as she directed the barrel to aim at the birds. Cutting through the Grimm like butter, the Nevermores fell from the sky, but Coco failed to see one with a clipped wing dive-bombing her as a last resort.

However, as Coco turned, she saw a grappling hook attach to the Grimm's face, reeling in a familiar-looking Assassin yelling with his fist drawn back.

Jacob directed all his aura into his brass knuckles as he delivered a shattering strike into the Nevermore's skull. As his aura coursed through his arms and out into the Grimm, the bony face plate on the Nevermore's head began to crack and cave inwards along with Jacob's fist, punching a deep hole into the Nevermore's face and spreading his aura into the creature's head, causing it to explode spectacularly.

Turning to face Coco, Jacob simply smiled with his signature smirk. "Took you long enough."

"Hey, I don't always have time for the most fashionable man on campus, y'know?" Coco retaliated with a grin.

Jacob jokingly gasped as he feigned a hurt expression. "But why?! Isn't my dapper taste in headwear enough for you?"

"Well, I guess you did save my threads back there. Nice going there, buster. How's about you do that again this time?" Coco said with a wink under her sunglasses.

Jacob laughed and ran forward with her to wipe out the remaining Grimm in front of them.

Meanwhile, Port had joined up with Oobleck, who had just surfaced from the train crash. Giving a thumbs-up to his colleague, Oobleck signaled that he was fine. Nodding in response, the two of them brought out their weapons and opened fire on the pack of Grimm running toward them.

Caught in the storm of fire and dust shells, the pack was immediately wiped out. However, a Boarbatusk managed to sneak up behind them and nearly jumped on Oobleck, when a dark figure dropped from the sky and tackled the creature to the side.

Removing his hidden blade from the boar's neck, Malik sighed as he dusted off his metal arm. "Sirs, a good day to you both." Malik greeted the two professors, who watched as several hooded individuals revealed themselves from the rooftops, pointing guns and crossbows at the chaos below.

Some Assassins hid in the shadows, ambushing Grimm with their blades while others preferred to step into the action with their weapons.

Malik looked ahead of the three of them to see a Deathstalker crawling towards the three of them. He pulled out his sword and spoke to the two professors. "Shall we?"

Port and Oobleck smiled as they raised their respective weapons. "Gladly."

 **Several hours later…**

After the long battle, the Grimm had finally been cleared out from the city.

Roman was recovered from the train crash, where he managed to stay obscured from the Grimm only to be promptly arrested by Atlesian Knights, escorted by Mercury and Emerald, much to his displeasure.

"Oh yes, you've really taught me the error of my ways- H-hey! Watch the hat!" Roman said sarcastically before one of the robots pushed him roughly.

In the square, everybody took a moment to breathe and relax in their victory. Ruby was absolutely exhausted, but overjoyed that the weeks of hard work finally paid off.

Emerald and Mercury shared smiles with the group and the Assassins rested their heads after a long day of fighting. Team CFVY and JNPR did the same, congratulating one another and laughing amongst themselves.

 **Courtyard, Beacon Academy**

After the long day, Teams RWBY and ACEE decided to return to the school to rest while Jacob invited Teams JNPR and CFVY, as well as an ecstatic Port and Oobleck for a celebratory drink at the _Aquila_ (much to Malik's displeasure, as he had to be the one handing them out)

Sitting on the docking bay where they had first set foot on the campus, both teams gazed at the beautiful sunset over the city skyline.

The academy was based on a cliff overlooking the city, almost adding to its namesake, watching over the city like a lighthouse. This also provided a beautiful view of the sun setting over the city skyline across the bay.

"Well, we did it…" Yang said with a smile.

"We did it." Blake agreed with a content smile.

"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm gonna be seriously disappointed." Weiss said.

Everybody laughed at her remark before Ezio opened his mouth to respond. "Let's see, we've exposed a terrorist attempt to lead Grimm into the city, captured the most wanted criminal in the city and organized the best school dance of all time. Surely they'd have to give us credit for that."

Altaïr chuckled lightly to himself, but retained his serious demeanor. "But remember, we didn't solve everything. That couldn't have possibly been all there was to it."

"Yeah, I still don't know who that girl was who attacked me at the CCT that night, and many people still got hurt." Ruby added.

"Well, I'd still call it a day. We've done enough today, so let ourselves rest to end it tomorrow. Let the moments while they can." Connor added with a smile.

"It may not be our happily ever after, but I think I can settle with a "to be continued" for now." Edward joked.

"Yeah… besides, if they try something like this again, we'll take them down no sweat." Ruby said happily.

"Yay, teamwork, camaraderie, good job guys…" Yang mumbled as she yawned with her arms stretched out.

"So… what now, _rosa_?" Ezio asked Ruby.

"Umm… practice for the tournament?" Ruby suggested.

"No, I think we have that covered by now. I mean, _look at us_!" Yang said, gesturing to the collection of skilled fighters that they were.

"So… then what?" Connor asked.

"Bed?" Blake suggested, earning sighs of relief and tiredness in agreement as the eight of them waddled back to their respective dorms for the longest sleep they would have in a lifetime.

 **Headmaster's Office, Beacon Academy**

" _Ozpin? OZPIN?!_ "

Ozpin turned from his window so that his chair faced his desk, turning his attention to the councilman yelling for him from his built-in comms.

"Yes, Councilor?" Ozpin replied calmly.

"You've left us with no choice! The Vytal Festival cannot be broadcast, let alone held if we are unable to ensure the safety of the citizens!" The councilor barked through the screen.

Ozpin listened solemnly, sipping from his mug with both hands with his eyes locked on the screen.

"Therefore, we have reached out to the Atlas Council, and together have decided that the best option is to appoint General Ironwood as head of security."

"Thank you, Councilman." Ironwood said via the live feed as his screen filled Ozpin's.

"Our kingdom is happy to lend as many troops as it takes to ensure that this event runs as smoothly and safely as possible." Ironwood said to the councilman.

"And we thank you, general." The councilman replied.

"Will that be all?" Ozpin inquired, his expression slightly hardened.

"For now. But after this festival comes to a close, we are going to have a serious discussion regarding your position at Beacon Academy. General Ironwood's reports of these past few weeks have left us somewhat… concerned. I'm sure you understand." The councilman replied to him before hanging up.

Ironwood's feed then filled up Ozpin's screen. "This is the right move, Ozpin. I will keep our people safe, I promise. You have to trust me."

Ozpin gave no answer as he hung up, turning his chair to gaze at the sun setting over the Vale skyline and then at a particular airship, aware that eyes were on him.

 **General Ironwood's Airship, Above Vale**

Ironwood looked out the window of his ship up at Ozpin's office shining atop the CCT.

Sighing to himself, Ironwood solemnly bowed his head. "You brought this on yourself."

However, he had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment. Turning to walk down the hallway, he caught sight of Haytham leaning against one of the holding cells, waiting for him.

Stopping in front of a particular holding cell, Ironwood entered a code to the door lock, causing it to drop and to reveal a familiar ginger-haired thief.

"Leave us." Ironwood waved off the two guards in front of the cell, allowing him to talk privately with his prisoner.

"I've been informed that so far that you've refused to cooperate with the authorities." Ironwood sternly told Roman, who sat in his cell with an indifferent expression.

"I know this may be hard to believe General, but uh… I'm not the biggest fan of law enforcement." Roman said to him.

"How about the world's strongest military power?" Ironwood rebutted.

"Hmm… first impressions… not great." Roman snarkily replied.

"Oh, yes. I can see that." Haytham sarcastically said as he appeared next to Ironwood.

"Now, let's talk business. We'll only give you one chance." Haytham said as he walked into the cell and pinned Roman against the wall.

"Who's really behind all this?" Haytham questioned him, his hidden blade drawn so the tip tickled the skin of his neck.

However, Roman remained calm. He knew they couldn't kill him. "Isn't it obvious? You're looking at him!"

Haytham sighed and pushed him back down into his seat, leaving the cell and closing the door. If he couldn't get answers from him, then what was the point? He would have killed this squirt as soon as they would let him, but he knew that he was smart. He knew that they needed answers from him, and if they couldn't give them to them, then they couldn't kill him.

"What's the matter, you two? I thought you guys wanted to talk!" Roman called out from his cell.

"The council has given us custody over you for as long as I see fit. So make yourself comfortable. I can assure you, we'll have plenty of time to 'talk'." Ironwood replied as he walked out of the room.

"Oh, wonderful." Roman said with a grin. It would only be a matter of time before the real plan began, and he would be waiting, no matter how patient he would need to be.

 **City Square, Vale**

Cinder observed the square that was once torn apart with Grimm running rampant, now quiet and spotless, courtesy of Glynda's telekinetic repairs.

"All in all, I call today a success." She proclaimed to her subordinates with a smirk.

"Those stupid kids really made a mess of things, though." Emerald groaned, tired from the many preparations they were making.

"It doesn't matter. They can't stop what comes next." Jack added.

"Speaking of which, a lot of faunus never made it out of those tunnels. Still think the White Fang'll listen to us?" Mercury asked.

"No." A foreign voice answered, causing everyone to turn their heads at the newcomer as his eyes glinted with deadly bloodlust under his mask.

"But they'll listen to me." Adam replied.

But as they spoke, they failed to notice a dark figure watching the events of the day take place, fiddling with his rifle.

While he didn't notice Cinder and her group conversing, he only had his eyes up towards the headmaster's office in the far distance.

"When will you learn, Oz?" Shay sighed to himself as he raised his mask and jumped off the rooftop with a leap of faith.

 **Up next: TOOOOOUUUUUURNAMEEEEEEENT AAAAAAAAAAARRRC!**

 **Happy Halloween, y'all (Happy birthday too, Ruby! (seriously tho her b'day's the 31** **st** **of October lol))! Finally done with Volume 2! Praise the Lord! Anyways, Volume 3's gonna be amazing, and Volume 5 is fucking great, and I'm super excited for all the different fights and new characters I can write into the story! Anyways, I really hope you liked this, and I hope to start off Vol. 3 with a bang! Please, please, PLEASE leave a review, be patient for the next one, and I will see you all… NEXT TIME! BYE-BYE!**

 **Andromeda: Lol what**

 **merendinoemiliano: Lol yeah, me too. What's this idea you have about the Grimm?**

 **Guest: Correct answer! Here, have a Snickers.**

 **Gaston: Hey, if you have that idea, write it yourself! Nothing's stopping you! (Btw, I don't watch Bleach lol)**

 **Sam hill: Yes, Evie can do that, but for Jacob's I've decided that it's more of a passive effect. Jacob's aura is extremely resistant against ranged attacks, so bullets or thrown weapons would only scratch a bit, meaning enemies need to get in close and fight him with melee to hurt Jacob.**

 **Guest: Lol yeah, Achilles was kinda cool as the 'old wise mentor' from AC3.**

 **Guest: Oh shit right I forgot goddammit**

 **FalconHockey102: Okay, here's how I imagine it. If I started this fic when the game came out, I'd totally make him a main character, but I think that it would be cool if Bayek were alive during the Great War, fighting against the Templars alongside the armies of Vale and Vacuo, going on to inspire the modern Brotherhood of Remnant.**

 **Guest: Exactly, mein freund.**

 **Guest: Oh, Shay had plenty reason. In fact, his entire reason for turning against the assassins comes from regard for human lives. In Rogue, he joined them to stop them from finding and disturbing the temples around the world, which would cause earthquakes like the one he accidentally started that destroyed the city of Lisbon.**


	26. Victory

**Patch, Vale. A week after the Vale Breach**

The forest was calm and beautiful. In the autumn season, the small island of Patch remained as humble as ever, the air quiet and tranquil as golden leaves floated down from the sunlit canopy.

Small animals pranced through the forest floor, their little feet rustling against the leaf litter. But past the clearing and through the trees, a cliff's edge stood, overlooking the vastness of a forest valley illuminated by the rising sun's golden rays.

In that clearing, rose petals fluttered in the wind as a young girl with the most innocent smile stood with her scarlet hood over her head and her hands close to her heart as her cape flowed in the breeze.

Ruby's silver eyes twinkled with a shine of tears, as her eyes fell upon the stone slab embedded into the cliff's edge. A stone engraved with her symbol as well as her name. The symbol she now bears as her own.

Raising her hood, Ruby was ready for another conversation with her. "Hey, Mom."

"Sorry that I haven't come by in a while. Well, things have been… things have been kinda busy." Ruby said with her hands crossed behind her back.

But then her eyes brightened up. "Ooh! Dad's here too! He's… y'know… Dad." Ruby said with a smile.

"He's still teaching at Signal, but he's told me he's gonna be going out on some mission soon! I think he misses adventuring with you. I miss you too." Ruby said, remembering her father's sleepless nights when she was little. It wasn't easy having two loves leave him, and she could at least remotely comprehend that feeling. Summer was her mother, and nothing could have changed that. Not in a million years. Not even her absence could take that away from her.

But then, Ruby changed the subject. "Haven't got kicked out of Beacon yet! So that's cool… I think being on a team with Yang helps. I keep her in line!" Ruby said to her mother with a giggle.

"That was a joke… She's actually a really great fighter! You can tell she's learned a lot from Dad. Well, so are Weiss and Blake. Oh! They're my teammates! Together we form Team RWBY!" Ruby said proudly with a smile.

"And yeah, before you ask, that does cause a lot of confusion…" Ruby stammered with an awkward giggle.

"Anyways, I made a bunch of new friends, too, and… let's just say odd teachers." Ruby continued, recalling Jaune, Altaïr and the others.

"Oh, we've also stopped some bad guys too! I guess it's like they say: like mother like daughter." She said with pride.

"I still wonder why Ozpin let me into the school early. But I guess he'll tell me one day. You know how he is. It's funny, the more I get to know him, the more he starts sounding like Uncle Qrow." Ruby noted, recalling Ozpin's cynical way of talking that reminded her of her favorite drunkle Qrow.

Hearing a dog bark behind her, Ruby turn around to see Zwei wagging his tail happily with her father standing against a tree, waiting for her.

"Ooh! Dad's here! I gotta go! He promised to drop me off at the Coliseum before he goes on his next mission! Wish me luck!" Ruby said hurriedly, lifting her hood and running to her father.

However, she remembered to turn back to the cliffside and smiled. "It was good to talk." Ruby said before leaving as white rose petals fluttered in the breeze into the valley. 

**Amity Coliseum, Above Beacon Academy (TEAMS ROUND 1: RWBY VS ABRN)**

Ruby was a kid with the fighting spirit of a seasoned warrior. She did what she felt was right and would fight for it to the bitter end.

Back when she was younger, she'd always talk about how she wanted to be a huntress like her parents, and her sister only fueled that passion.

But one thing Ruby always loved was watching the Vytal Tournament. Sure, the Festival itself was awesome, but to see all those students fight in the Amity Coliseum, it was something that showed her the spirit and adrenaline of a huntress's life.

She had always wanted to be in the ring, fighting her best and showing the world what she could do. But all that imagination back then absolutely paled to what she was feeling now.

All around her, she could hear the thundering roar of the crowd and she could feel the rush of energy and vigor that filled her body as she shot Crescent Rose at Bolin, who deflected the shot with his staff and advanced toward her.

The arena was an architectural wonder, a collaborative achievement of the four kingdoms and a revered place to many. The arena was kept suspended in the air via the massive gravity dust crystal built under the Coliseum, and the ring was specially designed with interchangeable biomes and environments.

Up above the ring, countless rows of seats lined the rim of the arena, encircling the arena and filled with crowds of ecstatic spectators. Camera bots flew over the arena, capturing the fight and broadcasting it to everybody watching, from the people in the arena to every home across Remnant watching the fight on TV, whether they are the nightclubs of Vale, luxury condos in Atlas, the pubs at Mistral or nomad caravans watching from the Vacuan deserts.

Ruby was overwhelmed by the thrill of all the eyes on her and her team, cheering them on as they took on the enemy team. She held a determined smile on her face as she ran forward to continue fighting.

Weiss summoned another ice construct with Myrtenaster, drawing breaths and drowning out the roar of the crowd as she engaged Nadir, using her glyphs to block the bullets from his machine gun.

Blake crossed her blades, pushing Reese's board off of her as she jumped up to juggle the skateboarder only for Reese to spin the board and fire it, knocking Blake back. Using her cat ears, she could hear voices in the seats above urging her to get up, and with a smile, she did and continued on.

Yang flipped into the air, narrowly missing the geyser of lava that gushed from the volcano biome. Crossing her fists to block another devastating punch from team leader Arslan, she retaliated with two gunshots from Ember Celica and rushed forward into battle.

High above the battlefield, two announcers were seated in an enclosed booth overlooking the stadium with a microphone and a camera set in between them. The first was a young woman with short hair and headphones and wore a sleeveless jacket unzipped to below her chest over a gray t-shirt.

The other was a young man wearing a demeanor and expression that showed that he would rather not be where he was at the moment. He wore glasses and a sweater over a buttoned-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves.

"Looks like we got another exciting match ahead of us today, folks! Don't you agree, Shaun?" The woman asked her partner.

"Yes, Becks, I think this is gonna be one of the closest matches we've seen so far in the 4v4 rounds yet!" Shaun agreed with Rebecca.

"For the ladies and gentlemen just joining us, WELCOME TO THE VYTAL FESTIVAL TOURNAMENT!" Rebecca announced loudly, inciting a combined cheer from the crowd below.

"Quite the welcome, Becks." Shaun said with a hint of sarcasm.

"What can I say, Shaun? I'm a natural." Rebecca replied with equal sass.

"Now, let's get down to the rules." Rebecca continued, nodding to her partner.

Shaun nodded back and spoke into the mic. "The tournament is divided into three distinctive rounds: Teams, doubles and singles. Age and school year are irrelevant. The only attribute tested in the arena… is skill. Combatants are eliminated once their aura level drops below 20, or if they are knocked out of the ring."

"Right! In this first round, combatants will fight alongside their teams in 4v4 matches. The winners will then elect two members to represent them in the doubles round, where they will fight in pairs. The winners of that round will elect one of their members to fight in the singles rounds, where they'll fight through the final bracket for victory for their kingdom and their team!" Rebecca elaborated.

"And I gotta say, Becks, I'm pretty hyped to find out who's gonna make it this year, and I'm sure all of you watching are feeling the same! We're bound to see some returning fighters, alongside new first-year combatants! Now, let us return to the match between Team RWBY of Beacon and Team ABRN of Haven!" Shaun continued.

Down below in the arena, Reese Chloris circled the ice biome a second time, before accelerating on her hoverboard towards Blake, who stood ready with her dual blades. Smiling, Reese spun on her board and jumped, flicking the board towards Blade, who used her blades to deflect the attack.

Reese's board then came back to her, leaving the green-haired girl to punch the board back at Blake, who leaped with a kick, hitting it back again. Blake used this opening to engage Reese, slashing downward with Gambol Shroud and attacking relentlessly with her shadow clones, only for Reese to block her hits with her board like a shield.

Flipping backwards, Reese steadied herself on her board and rushed Blake. However, Blake held a confident smirk and waited. When Reese came close, she leapt back at the last second with an ice-infused shadow clone, leaving Reese vulnerable to a quick strike from Gambol Shroud, sending her into the air and cutting her board in half.

Thinking quickly, Reese grabbed both ends of her board and contract it into her dual pistols, firing down onto Blake as she rose into the air. However as she attempted to land, her footing gave way, causing Reese to crash onto the ice and to writhe in pain, causing Blake to cringe at the accident along with the audience.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt." Rebecca noted from the commentator's booth.

"Someone should've been wearing a helmet." Shaun added.

"You?" Rebecca asked.

"Shut up, Becks."

Over at the volcano biome, Yang slammed down with a fist, which was barely dodged by Arslan. The dark skinned girl leapt back on instinct, only for Yang to pepper her with rapid punches.

Swinging a kick, Yang missed Arslan as she ducked and swung a fist to deflect her own and used her momentum to hit Yang across the arm. Drawing back a fist, Yang did the same as both knuckles collided in a spectacular explosion, blowing away stray volcanic rock.

Both girls were knocked back from the blow. Yang pounded a fist into the ground to slow herself, while Arslan dug her fingers into the ground, trailing rubble as she got back up on her feet.

Yang then advanced with a kick, only for Arslan to hook her foot with her rope dart and pulled her in for a sharp kick into the ice biome.

Yang barreled across the arena, groaning while trying to get up to her feet. However, her feet wobbled as she struggled to stay upright on the slippery ice.

This only left Arslan to jump in with a drawn fist. Yang was nailed in the torso, grunting as she felt the sharp pain and was thrown backwards into the air and crashed into the ice.

"Looks like Yang's in a bit of a mess there. Is this it for her?" Shaun announced in the microphone as all eyes were focused on the dragon girl.

Nadir Shiko smirked as he pulled out his gun to finish her, but all of a sudden there was a bright flash following a gunshot. Nadir looked below him to see his feet were frozen in place, encased in solid ice.

Growling in frustration, the pink-haired boy pulled out his machine gun in an attempt to break free, only for a red blur to intervene, smacking the firearm from his hand and sent skidding across the ice.

"Well, looks like Nadir's on ice for the moment!" Rebecca joked.

"Please kill me…" Shaun groaned, cringing at her shitty puns.

Ruby smiled to her sister. "Got your back!"

"Who's got yours?" A voice asked from behind. Ruby turned to see Bolin Hori twirling his staff, ready to attack her. She raised her weapon, but only smiled as a glyph appeared beside him. Weiss then appeared, kicking Bolin aside and launching him through the glyph and tumbling into the volcano biome.

"My BFF!" Ruby proclaimed proudly.

"No." She replied blankly.

But Ruby only smiled and pumped her fist. "Yes!"

 **Terraces, Amity Coliseum**

"Whoo! Go get 'em!" Team ACEE was seated with Team JNPR and Team JAAE, with Teams ASHN and CFVY nearby.

Altaïr quietly watched from his seat, sipping from his cup of iced tea, but keeping his eyes on the movements of the fighters, his mind calculating the outcomes of the match.

Ezio was cheering wildly alongside Edward, Arno and Jacob, all four standing up from their seats and cheering on their friends.

"Quite the match, wouldn't you agree?" Adé asked to Connor.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Connor agreed with him with a smile.

Evie sat next to her noisy brother, quietly munching popcorn as she watched the fight ensue. She wasn't much a fan of fighting as her brother, but Evie had to admit, the annual Tournament was a very special exception. She would be fighting there alongside her team, and she couldn't wait.

Jaune looked down into the arena with wonder sparkling in his eyes. He had seen Team RWBY in action before, and he had to say, they were certainly a force to be reckoned with.

He saw Ruby in battle, wielding Crescent Rose with deadly efficiency and dexterity. His mind could barely imagine this was the same girl he had met that first morning in the courtyard.

But then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to be greeted by Pyrrha's kind smile. "We can win this. I know we can." Pyrrha said to him, her green eyes twinkling with sincerity. With this, Jaune smiled and continued to cheer on his friends. 

**Arena, Amity Coliseum**

Bolin propped himself back up using his staff, looking up to see another glyph materialize in front of him. He stood up readying himself, but was caught off-guard by a quick blur slashing him across the face.

Weiss dashed past Bolin, striking him with her rapier, before using another glyph to launch herself back above the Mistralese boy, slashing below her and landing gracefully back on her feet.

Bolin stood ready, but Weiss cast a glyph in front of her, cueing Ruby to sprint forward and leap off of the glyph, launching her into the air. Ruby then brought up Crescent Rose and slammed it down on the boy, only for him to raise his staff and block the strike. Growling in frustration, Ruby pulled the trigger, pushing herself back with a shot and landing on the ground, holding her weapon steadily.

Bolin slowly got up from the sudden gunshot, but only smirked as he moved forward. Weiss narrowed her gaze and used a glyph to summon ice shards down at him, but Bolin only rolled and ran past Weiss. Ruby saw he was running her way, and slashed horizontally with her scythe, but Bolin jumped up over Ruby, passing her as well.

"What?" Ruby exclaimed in confusion.

Bolin then stopped at a nearby dust stalagmite, hacking off a piece of the fire dust crystal and tossed it to Reese, who grabbed the shard and stabbed it into her board, causing it to hum and glow orange.

"What's this? Looks like Reese's about to turn up the heat!" Rebecca announced, cueing the cheer of the crowd.

Reese winked at a frowning Blake, before jumping on her board and speeding toward Nadir, still frozen in place. But as Reese passed him with her board, the energy from the fire dust melted the ice around Nadir's feet, freeing him and leaving him to run and grab his weapon from the ground.

Reese then turned her attention to Blake, leaping at her with her board and pushing Blake into a nearby ice crystal, stunning her. Using this opening, Reese came at her spinning her board and shooting off spirals of flame. Blake barely dodged the attacks with her shadow clones and tossed Gambol Shroud at a nearby ice crystal, pulling herself behind it.

Reese followed her, and looked around the corner to see Blake standing there, completely motionless. Reese smiled in confidence. How stupid was she to leave herself open like that?

Reese dashed forward and spun her board with a jump to deal the final blow, only to see Blake's image disappear, and Gambol Shroud being tossed from behind the ice wall.

Blake smirked when Reese bought her decoy and pulled on Gambol Shroud's ribbon, stiffening the ribbon and hooking Reese along it, knocking the air out of the skater girl.

As she fell to the ground, Blake quickly ran up behind her and delivered a sharp kick, sending her tumbling out of the arena and into the energy barrier that protected the spectators from the gunfire.

"Oooohh… double whammy! Reese Chloris is eliminated by ring out and aura level!" Rebecca announced, sparking cheers and jeers alike from the crowd.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt." Shaun added.

As Arslan skated by using her rope dart, followed by Yang who used her shotgun blasts to propel her across the ice, Nadir aimed his gun at Weiss, only for her to cast a glyph beside her, propelling an approaching Bolin forward, crashing into Nadir and disorienting the two of them.

Weiss then cast a glyph under their feet, swirling their bodies in the air alongside the ice around them, before the ice was reconstructed into a massive fist entrapping both boys in the ice.

Weiss drew back her glyph, causing the massive ice boulder to roll, carrying Nadir and Bolin with it inside. Arslan saw this happening and sighed to herself, throwing her rope dart into an ice crystal, pulling herself into the path of the boulder. She stomped a foot back and assumed a steady stance.

Focusing her strength into her arm, Arslan leaned back with her fist before punching forward with incredible strength, shattering the boulder into hundreds of chunks of ice, releasing the two dazed students.

Seeing their chance when the remaining three members of Team ABRN were together, Weiss called out. "Yang!"

With this, she clicked Myrtenaster's barrel and aimed, constructing a ramp made of ice. "NOW!"

Yang nodded with a determined grin and ran forward with a shotgun blast, skating alongside the inside of the ramp. Blake ran beside her, tossing one end of Gambol Shroud to her.

As Yang grabbed the pistol, Blake pulled with all her might and leapt on Ruby's shoulders, who fired a shot from Crescent Rose under her feet, pushing Blake upwards with the recoil and into the air.

Team ABRN was only coming to their senses when they looked up above them. They saw Blake coming towards them, who pulled on her weapon as hard as she could, launching Yang towards the three of them with a fiery yell.

"YAAAAAAaaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaAAA-"

Yang landed with a powerful swing, one that managed to connect with all three remaining fighters at once, sending all of Team ABRN into volcanic rock, stunned and unable to fight any longer. "Yes!"

With the buzzer's sound, the crowd went wild above them as the announcers began to speak again. "Triple knockout! This match belongs to Team RWBY!"

Ruby looked all around her, her thrilled brain unable to process the events ensuing around her. "We… did it?..." Ruby asked in shock.

Weiss, Blake, and Yang all smiled with excitement, Yang giving her a thumbs-up.

With this, Ruby's smile grew infinitely as she leapt up in the air with joy. "WE DID IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-" 

**Fairgrounds, Vale**

"-IIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiis anyone else starviiiiinnngg…?" Ruby groaned tiredly with her shoulders slumped lazily.

"I… may have worked up an appetite." Blake said, only for her stomach to growl loudly showing that Ruby wasn't alone.

"Gosh, if only there was someway to get food around here… oh, wait…" Weiss said aloud sarcastically, reminding everyone about the _massive_ fairgrounds with food stands around every corner.

The Vytal Festival was in full swing by now, with visitors from all over the world coming over to celebrate. All sorts of people walked past the four girls, whether they be small children, faunus, or the occasional security robot.

Ruby then patted her partner on the back with a smile. "It's okay, Weiss. I forget about the fairgrounds, too."

"I was being facetious." Weiss replied blankly.

"W-wha- Well, if you were hungry, then why didn't you say so?!" Ruby yelled in response.

"C'mon, I know just the place!" Yang said to the rest of Team RWBY, walking off and gesturing for her teammates to follow her.

Happily obliging, the four girls followed her, but then Weiss felt her scroll vibrate and ring in her pocket.

Pulling out her scroll, she took one look at the screen and hung up with an irritated growl. Like hell she would be having another "talk" with her father.

But just as they were about to head off, Ruby heard a voice behind her. "Hey! Might be hard to eat without _this_!"

Ruby turned to see Emerald smiling while holding out her… wallet… Her eyes shot open wide as she frantically checked her pockets with panicked whimpers.

Emerald only laughed at Ruby's antics and smiled. "Good to see you, Ruby!"

Ruby then finally calmed down and took her wallet from Emerald's hands. "Oh! Thanks, Emerald! Guess I dropped it! Ugghh, girl pockets are the worst!..." Ruby groaned.

"What's up, Em?" Yang said as she greeted the green-haired girl.

"Just left the stadium after your amazing fight! You guys were awesome!" Emerald replied, causing Ruby to gush with flustered babbles as her cheeks turned red.

"I heard your team progressed to the next round, too." Blake added.

"You know, I feel like we never see your teammates." Weiss noted. Emerald was pretty nice to them, but it seemed that the rest of her team was rather… reserved to say the least.

"How'd they do in the fight?" Yang asked her. 

**Amity Coliseum, Several hours ago…**

Emerald opened fire on the enemy team, who could do little other than raise their arms to protect their faces from the bullets.

This only allowed Mercury to get in close demolish them with a series of kicks. He fired off rounds from his boots as he struck, adding extra power to his hits.

One student from the enemy team tried once more to advance, only to be thrown back from a kick from Cinder, hitting him right in the chest and sending the boy sprawling across the floor.

He was just coming to his senses, when he heard the distinct noise of footsteps running closer. He saw the dark figure descend upon him swiftly, but raised his arms to block two fists holding daggers.

His attacker was a young-looking man, his features sharp and his skin a bit on the pale side, with unkempt black hair. The attacker only pushed down harder on the boy, who used every muscle in his body to hold him back.

However, he only heard a deep cackle escape his opponent's lips, before a sudden screech overpowered his senses, scrambled his brain and stopped his heart for a good length of a second, leaving the student defenseless as the attacker mercilessly hacked away at the remainder of his aura, almost catching glimpse of the whites of his enemy's eyes turn an inky black as he lost consciousness. 

**Back to the future…**

"… Really well…" Emerald answered.

"That's great! Uh, why don't we all go out and get some victory food together?" Ruby asked Emerald eagerly.

"Oh! Gosh, that's so nice of you! But my teammates are all kinda… introverted." Emerald said, she and Team RWBY turning to Mercury, who was… sniffing a boot.

"Really socially awkward…" Emerald added.

"Ooooh yeah… I can see that." Yang agreed.

"So… yeah! Looks like Merc and I are moving on to the doubles round! What about you guys?" Emerald said.

"Well, as the leader of this team, I thought long and hard about this decision-"

"We put it to a vote." Weiss interrupted Ruby blankly.

"B-uuuu-yes, b-but I decided we should put it to a vote!" Ruby interjected between her stammers.

"We voted for Weiss and Yang." Blake added with a smile directed at her friends.

"I will happily represent Team RWBY." Weiss said with a bow.

"Yeah! We're gonna kick some butt!" Yang added, pounding her fists together with determination, causing Emerald to chuckle to herself.

"Well, if Merc and I see you down the line, don't think we'll go easy on ya." Emerald said with a confident smirk.

This caused Yang to cross her arms with a matching smirk. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Alright. Well, we're gonna go catch some more fights." Emerald said to them before walking the other way.

"Have fun!" Ruby said as she waved her goodbye.

"See you later!" Emerald said as she walked with Mercury. Turning away from Team RWBY, her face soured.

"So, how're the new 'friends'?" Mercury asked her.

"I hate them." Emerald answered coldly.

"Orders are orders…" Mercury reminded her with a grin.

"It's just…! How can they be so _happy_ all the time?!" Emerald grumbled in annoyance.

"Did you at least get what we want?" Mercury asked with a serious voice.

"It's the heiress and the bimbo." Emerald answered him apathetically.

"Hmm, alright… At least we know who we're working with." Mercury said as the pair walked off to meet up with Jack and Cinder. Everything was going according to plan. 

**Meanwhile…**

"Well, look who it is!" Edward proclaimed upon seeing the team of four girls walking towards their table at the ramen stand.

Ruby smiled and happily waved to the members of Team ACEE, who were seated at the noodle shop, all of them happy to see Ruby and her team.

"Hey, guys!" Ruby called out happily, waving her hand with a smile.

"If it isn't our little team of victors! Sit down, sit down!" Ezio greeted them, gesturing to the empty seats next to theirs.

"That was quite the fight. We were all rooting for you." Connor said to Team RWBY warmly, a slight smile appearing at the edge of his lips.

"Really? T-thanks…" Blake replied meekly as a red tint briefly graced her cheeks.

"And of course, you pulled through. I have to admit, you all put on an impressive performance for everybody today." Altaïr noted with a prideful smile.

"D'oh stop it!..." Ruby stammered awkwardly as her face flushed red from flattery.

"Man, I'm starving!" Yang exclaimed, patting her exposed belly for added measure, eliciting a loud grumble from her stomach.

On cue, the old man emerged from the kitchen to take their orders, taking out a pen and a notepad.

"I'll have a bowl of the regular, please!" Yang asked, having a large bowlful of noodly goodness, countless strings of dough swimming in a savory stock with slices of juicy pork and fresh vegetables arranged with a tantalizing temptation to Yang's nose and eyes as she beamed at the savory dish in front of her.

Ruby observed her sister's reaction with excitement, her silver eyes twinkling with childlike curiosity and anticipation.

"Ooohhh… I'll take the same!" She told the shopkeep before having a similar bowl of sizable proportions in front of her as she rubbed her palms together, ready to dig in as soon as possible.

"We'll take two more, please." Altaïr calmly said, raising his hand. He and Ezio then smiled once the savory aroma of ramen filled their nasal chambers when two more bowls were shoved in front of the two assassins.

"I'll have something spicy. Oh! And a root beer." Edward asked, receiving a bowl of his own along with a mugful of fizzling soda, causing the pirate to lick his lips in hunger.

"Do you have anything with a low salt-" Weiss began to ask, before having another portion of ramen shoved in her face. "Oh! Umm… okay…"

But when the shopkeep turned to Blake, she only nodded once with a smirk. The old man nodded back and rushed into the kitchen, loud clattering of utensils and sizzling noises audible from the kitchen.

"Aren't you gonna order anything?" Edward asked his faunus relative, who sat modestly in his chair, fiddling awkwardly.

"You know what?... I'm not really hungry right n-" Connor began before the shopkeep came back out of the kitchen, dropping off two brand-new bowls in front of Blake and Connor. Blake's bowl was filled with fresh tuna, while Connor's was filled with the best-smelling beef you've ever seen.

Both faunus could only stare at their meals with glazed eyes, drooling waterfalls from slack jaws. "On second thought…" Connor managed to mutter in his haze.

Once everyone got their food, Weiss pulled out something from her pocket. In her hand was a shining credit card bearing her family's symbol. She smirked as handed the cash-filled card to the shopkeep to pay for everyone's meals, causing everyone to turn their heads towards the heiress in surprise.

"Aww Weiss, what's the occasion?" Yang gushed as the old shopkeep took the card to transfer its credits.

"Consider it thanks for sending me to the doubles round!" Weiss replied proudly.

However, a loud thunk on wood was heard as everybody diverted their gazes to Weiss's card stuck into the wooden table in front of her. They all heard the shopkeep clear his throat before pointing at the cash register angrily, with a bright display reading "DECLINED" flashed on it.

"WHAT?! How could my card be declined?! I was barely into my monthly allowance…" Weiss exclaimed in shock. She could have sworn she had that thing filled!

Noticing this, Blake subtly tried to take a piece of fish from her bowl, only for the shopkeep to abruptly take it away, much to her dismay.

"Nooooo!..." Blake moaned as she rested her head on the table with tears of despair trailing from her eyes.

"Maybe we could help?" A kind voice asked.

Everyone then turned their heads to see Team JNPR and Team JAAE walking towards them, looking as good as ever.

"PYRRHAAA!" Ruby exclaimed in joy, happy to see her Spartan friend in their desperate time of need.

"Aww… you're too kind, aren't you?" Ezio said to Pyrrha.

"You don't have to!" Yang said bashfully.

"BUTSHECOULD!" Blake abruptly interrupted Yang, hoping to save her tuna.

"WHATSHESAID!" Connor uncharacteristically added, agreeing with his friend.

Jacob chuckled at their shenanigans, patting Edward on the back. "Of course we would! We're friends, after all!"

"And this also means you owe me." He whispered to Edward menacingly with a deep voice, causing the blonde's hair to stand on end, but ever so quietly that Ruby's smile didn't fade.

"Mind if we join you guys?" Jaune asked, eager to get in on lunch. 

**Many nom noms later…**

Soon, sixteen teens sat contently in their seats, with a bowl in front of each, all of them completely empty.

Ruby sat in her chair, smiling contently with a hand on her chin, greatly satisfied by her meal.

Everybody else was also doing the same, patting their full stomachs with a blissful look in their eyes. Some like Weiss, Arno and Jaune, however were groaning in discomfort as the contents of their stomachs threatened to burst out from their swollen bellies.

"Are you sure it was wise to eat before a fight?" Adéwalé asked Team JNPR with concern. They would be fighting in the arena next, after all.

"Of course! It will give us energy!" Pyrrha replied confidently as the shopkeep rushed around the table, cleaning up their bowls.

"BUUUUURRRRRPPPP" Nora let loose a loud belch from the depths of her digestive system, the thundering noise echoing throughout the fairgrounds.

But with this, Jacob only chuckled lightly and gave himself a good smack on the stomach. Feeling the air rise up his esophagus, Jacob let loose another burp, louder than Nora's. "BUUUUUUUAUAUAUAUAAURRRRRPP"

"Top that, Thunder Thighs." Jacob said to a stunned Nora with a snarky grin, causing half those seated at the table to laugh heartily, while the other half either smiled contently or cringed at the vulgarity of the scene in front of them.

"Ugggghhhh… if I barf, I'm blaming youuuu…." Jaune groaned with his face planted into the table.

"Ooh! Aim at the enemy!" Nora exclaimed excitedly with a crazed grin on her face.

"Of course! The perfect technique for "Vomit Boy!" Yang joked, causing her friends to laugh along with her.

"Nora, Yang, that's disgusting!" Ren added blankly.

"But no harm in letting it loose when you have to, am I right?" Evie said to the pained blonde.

"Got it…" Jaune managed to reply through his nauseous voice.

"Well, we should be off!" Pyrrha proclaimed, pushing herself up on her feet.

"So, are you all sure you're ready?" Connor asked Team JNPR.

With this, Nora jumped up with a cheerful reply. "Um… Of course! We got a world-renowned fighter on our team, what's basically a ninja, I can bench five of me, Jaune…"

"Err… We trained all year, our weapons are _awesome_ , Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and uh… Jaune!" Nora chirped.

"Are… you gonna take that?" Arno asked aforementioned boy.

"She's not wrong…" Jaune replied with a groan. He knew she was messing with him, but he also knew her words weren't exactly lies.

"I'm kidding! He knows I'm kidding!"

"Don't be so nervous! The worst that could happen is we'd _lose!_ Then it's just a few more years walking around campus with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends'll slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, nobody'll sit with us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents, so we have _no home_ left to go to!" Nora hastily said, her face slowly draining color as she listed off the numerous possibilities of a horrifying future of their failure.

"We'll be officially renamed Team LOSE-IPER! HAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!... AHHhhaaaaaaauuuuuuhhhaaaauuuhauuughhhh…" Nora cackled hysterically with a pale face before proceeding to sob miserably all over the table.

"So yeah… sounds great." Altaïr noted.

"Don't fret! If anything, we should be looking forward to a fight with _actual_ guidelines, and not…well, murderers." Pyrrha said with a hand on Nora's back, said girl still crying a waterfall.

"Yeah, we've all seen way worse before!" Edward agreed with Pyrrha, chugging a swig from his mug.

"Let's see… Grimm invasions, violent extremists, destructive sociopaths…" Blake listed off, recounting their endeavors over the past few weeks during their little "investigation".

"And that's while we were all still in training! Oh, imagine what it'll be like when we graduate!" Ruby added on excitedly with both fists pumped with a massive grin.

"Maybe then I'll be able to pay for a meal…" Weiss groaned before the whine of a microphone played over the intercom.

"Would Team JNPR please report to the arena immediately." Rebecca's voice blared over the intercom.

"Yes, like they were _supposed to_ several minutes ago?!" Shaun's irritated voice said after his colleague's.

"Well, seems like this is it!" Pyrrha said before getting up and walking toward the campus grounds with her team following suit, Nora still sobbing in despair and Jaune clutching his stomach.

"Go get 'em!" Ruby cheered as they saw their friends walk off.

Jaune then looked back at his friends and met Altaïr's eye. The young assassin didn't say a word, but gave him a gentle smile and a subtle nod. With this, Jaune returned his gesture and joined his team with a more confident stride. 

**Amity Coliseum, several minutes later….**

Team RWBY walked into the Coliseum, eager to catch the next fight. Ruby eagerly pointed them towards their seats while her team giggled lightly at their leader's antics.

However, they didn't notice Emerald and Mercury turn the other way from behind them, walking off to the other side of the amphitheater.

Sitting down, Mercury watched the combatants step out to the battlefield as he munched down on a bag of popcorn.

"I wonder who's gonna win…" Mercury mumbled as he chewed down on his snacks.

"Tsch. As if we didn't already know." Emerald replied coldly.

"Oh, come now. Even if you know how a story ends, it doesn't make it any less fun to watch." Cinder said from behind them, dressed in a new combat outfit, consisting of a light brown sleeveless vest, jeans and bindings covering her chest. She picked up a kernel of corn from Mercury's bag, popping it between her fingers with her powers.

"Exactly. Besides, it's no fun sitting out on the action when you can play a part yourself." Jack added, walking by and taking a seat next to Cinder. Whatever Neo tech Neo used to disguise herself, it had worked wonders for Jack, masking his more gruesome features.

He also made an effort by cutting his hair a bit shorter and wearing contacts. Although he could at least suppress his sinister aura, Jack constantly made it so he stayed out of sight whenever he could, his cover helping to keep eyes off his back during the tournament.

"Besides… who doesn't love a good fight? Enjoy it while we can afford the pleasantry." Jack said as he relaxed into his chair.

"Welcome back, ladies and gents! Our next bout of the Teams Round is about to get underway!" Shaun proclaimed with vigor.

"Team JNPR of Beacon versus Team BRNZ of Shade!" Rebecca announced through the microphone.

"This oughta be a match to remember!" 

**Up next: JNPR VS BRNZ and ACEE VS NDGO!**

 **Hey guys! I oughta get this out of the way, but this fic'll probably be updated less frequently until my holiday break. If not, then that'll be a pleasant surprise. I literally just got the idea of adding in Shaun and Rebecca as the commentators in the middle of writing this thing (btw they aren't Assassins here. Just so you know.) Oh yeah, by the way, I got big plans for the future, Volume 5 is looking amazing and I hope you all can be patient with me. I understand I took my sweet time, as seen by your reviews and I gotta say, between retreat, tests and Personal Project, I have to thank you for getting this story to 50,000 views and 200 follows! LIKE WHAT THE FUCK?! Thank you! Anyways, leave a review, tell me what you think, blah blah blah, yadda yadda and I'll see you… NEXT TIME! BYE-BYE! OH YEAH! Before I sign off, I was literally about to publish this son of a bitch when the new RWBY Chibi came out! Check it out, guys. CRAAAZYYYY SHIT.**

 **Minnidog118: Thanks!**

 **merendinoemiliano** **: Yeah, true, but remember that the show was still pretty small back then, so you** **gotta** **give Monty some credit for getting a compelling story out of Volumes 1 and 2. And I** **gotta** **say, interesting perspective on the Grimm.**

 **RemaGeek** **: Nah, man it's cool.**

 **SW11037: Hmmm… I** **dunno** **if I'm** **gonna** **write a** **chibi** **version. Definitely considering it, though. Maybe with all the requests for holiday specials, it'll definitely be out by Christmas. But don't expect me to put much of my time into a** **Chibi** **story, though.**

 **Guest: Actually, here's how I see it. By Volume 4, Ezio's wearing his Brotherhood robe. By now, he wears his AC2 robe. If I write a future spinoff, I think the Revelations robe fits for an older Ezio.**

 **Guest: Hmmm… Now that I think about it, I don't really know. I'd think that Ezio's father was killed, but Frederico had to take over the family business as the eldest. Advised by his uncle, Ezio joins the assassins for vengeance, he meets** **Altaïr** **and the rest is history.**

 **Guest: Can't do Halloween. It's been a while since October 31** **st** **and it'd just be weird. Probably considering Christmas though. Be ready.**

 **Guest: In Volume 4 and onwards, I was imagining Edward would wear his Pirate Captain outfit. (If you don't know, it's almost the same as Edward's normal outfit, only with a black and red color scheme.)**

 **treyalexander63917: Okay…. Villa** **Auditore** **definitely exists, but I don't entirely know about the Homestead or** **Masyaf** **. I understand that I haven't been giving Team ASHN much attention, so I hope I can find room for them in Volume 3. Also, just as a heads up, I plan to have Arno join up with Ruby for Volume 4, so we'll most likely have more of him.**

 **Alpha701: No it isn't, m8.**

 **ThreadChunks5: Eh… not the next chapter, but I don't think I'll add them in on the main story. Maybe in a spinoff or a flashback chapter, but idk for now.**

 **Guest: Oh, thank you so much! To answer your questions, first of all, the Templars and Assassins are still at odds, but not to the extent seen in the games. The Templars seek their own ends, but they share an enemy in Salem, however, some are more tolerant of assassins than most. I don't think Connor would go that far here. Haytham is on relatively stable terms with the Assassins and Templars, and is only doing his job.**

 **alertpoet91: MORE IS HERE!**

 **Guest: Umm… read my profile. I'm sure it tells you which city I live in.**


	27. Royal Flush

**Amity Coliseum, Above Beacon Academy (Teams Round 2: JNPR VS BRNZ)**

"Three…" The loud voice of Rebecca Crane counted, blaring through the stadium as both teams stood opposite each other in the center of the ring.

Ren held Stormflower with both hands, his index fingers curled delicately over each trigger, ready to squeeze down at the lightest blur. His stance was low to the ground and his breaths were deep, his mind clearing of distractions like the roar of the crowd as his magneta purple eyes stared down at his opponents with a sharp and snakelike glare.

Nora grinned like a little girl on Christmas morning, her pearly whites exposed to the massive audience. Magnhild was gripped tight in a firm pair of fists, each arm surging with thunderous strength, waiting to be unleashed on her foes. Her turquoise eyes glared at her enemies with maniacal anticipation, boring into their stares like laser beams as the cheers of the audience only riled her adrenaline up tenfold.

"Two…" Rebecca continued as the crowd grew restless.

Pyrrha stood tall and confidently, her stature calm and elegant. She held her shield in front of her with a firm arm, and grasped her javelin in the other, the weapon resting in relaxed fingers at her side. Pyrrha learned not to buckle under pressure, as through many tournaments, she had learned to get used to the cheer of the crowd and the pressure and stress of battle. This may be the biggest match she had fought thus far, but she was willing to show she was no newbie by a long shot.

Jaune was without a doubt, nervous. However, he knew that despite this, he needed to be strong for himself, for his team, and for everybody rooting for him and cheering him on. He held his Crocea Mors with his shield up and his double-edged blade by his side. He could only hope that half a year's worth of training from two of the most skilled fighters on campus would help him now as sapphire eyes narrowed with conviction.

"One…"

"Come on, guys!" Jaune proclaimed loudly as he raised his sword into the air, riling up the rest of Team JNPR with determination.

"BEGIN!" Rebecca and Shaun announced together over the loudspeaker, bringing the crowd to a crescendo and cueing both teams to run for the center of the ring.

The enemy leader, Brawnz Ni ran with Roy Stallion and Nolan Porfirio, while the fourth member of the team, a young girl wearing a red sports jacket and a beanie covering her left eye cocked her sniper rifle and ran for the cover of the trees in the forest biome.

Brawnz was a dark-skinned boy with hair shaved at the sides of his head, leaving white locks flowing from the top of his scalp with streaks of violet. He also wore a pale violet vest with a purple bandanna hanging from his neck, and on his wrists, steel claws were strapped tight.

Nolan was a young man of similar stature, with brown hair unstyled and falling in locks over his golden eyes. He wore a denim vest over a black hooded t-shirt with sunglasses clipped to his collar. In his hand, he gripped a cattle prod, crackling with sparks of electricity.

Roy was similarly toned to Brawnz, his skin dark and his hair brown and tied back in braids. His eyes were steel blue and he wore a green vest over white trousers, and in each hand, he held golden discs, each lined with jagged saw teeth.

Brawnz sprinted towards Pyrrha, kicking off the match with a flying knee, only for the redheaded prodigy to block the strike with her shield, knocking her back a foot.

Brawnz then followed by leaning forward in midair to punch Pyrrha with a clawed hand, but Pyrrha managed to stop the attack with her blade. With this, Pyrrha jabbed her fist up, still gripping her weapon and disoriented Brawnz just long enough for her to distance herself with a swipe to the neck.

Meanwhile, Ren and Nora began to engage Nolan, who ducked to dodge a swing from Nora's hammer before spinning himself back up to retaliate with a swipe from his prod aimed at her back, only to miss himself.

But in the cover of the trees, May Zedong managed to jump on top of a branch using the axe blade on the armrest of her rifle before lining up her sights.

Squinting, she pulled the trigger and fired a shot, just missing Ren by a hair's length and blowing apart a nearby boulder. Alerted to the noise, Jaune looked up from his scuffle with Roy to find the source of the shot.

Soon, his eyes fell upon the glare of the sun reflecting off of May's scope, causing them to widen. "R-retreat!"

Catching on to their leader's order, Team JNPR withdrew from combat, blocking and dodging the sniper rounds aimed for them. Soon, all four of them were ducked behind a boulder, and three sets of eyes looked to Jaune.

"What's the plan?" Pyrrha asked hastily to the blonde knight.

Jaune peered over the boulder and saw the BRN of Team BRNZ running towards them, with May attempting to realign her sights.

"Spread out! Try to keep moving!" Jaune yelled to his team as Brawnz leapt up, trying to slam down on Jaune with his claws, only for him to hold him back with his shield.

Meanwhile, Nolan walked calmly towards Ren, who stood focused with his pistols ready. Nolan turned behind him and met May's eyes, nodding. Chuckling under her breath, May fired her first shots at Ren's legs, causing him to leap back and forth to dodge the shots, leaving Nolan to bludgeon him over the skull with his prod, stunning the Mistralese boy.

Retaliating with a kick, Nolan only ducked and thrust the prod up into his stomach, delivering a nasty electrical shock into Ren's body, throwing him back with a zap.

"Ren!" Nora cried out for her friend and partner, angrily swinging her hammer over Nolan's head, only for him to repeat the same move on the ginger bomber.

However, as the prod flooded her body with a crackling hot electrical current, Nolan couldn't find the pain he found so often every time he did this. Instead, he found himself looking into the maniacal and triumphant grin of Nora Valkyrie, her eyes crackling with vigor and adrenaline.

"What's this? Looks like Nora's charging up her semblance!" Rebecca's voice announced over the loudspeaker, alerting a confused Nolan.

"W-what?"

"Yes, it seems that Ms. Valkyrie's semblance allows her to channel and harness electrical energy directly into her muscles. Looks like a cattle prod's only gonna give Nolan a few more broken bones."

"What?!" Nolan turned back to his opponent with alarmed eyes.

Nora rose slowly, raising Magnhild with a single hand, her entire body coursing with hot pink lightning as her arms and eyes literally glowed with sparks of pure energy, causing the crowd to go apeshit with cheers and whoops.

Fearfully backing away, Nolan could only barely process what had happened before a pink blur of lightning appeared in front of him, hitting him back with a force comparable to a herd of Goliaths charging him at full speed with fucking THUNDERCLAP sounding as he was hit, sending him into a nearby boulder, causing Nolan's aura to deplete significantly.

Noticing this, Jaune looked up to the peak of the mountain biome, where dark clouds began to assemble, with the boom of thunder sounding from within them. His mind thinking quickly, he began to formulate a plan.

Turning to their muscle, Jaune ordered her, "Nora! Get to the mountain!"

"You got it!" Nora said giddily as she zipped to the mountain's base.

"Ren, try to distract the sniper!" Jaune said, turning to said ginger's partner.

"Sure… why not?..." Ren replied exasperatedly, strafing to his left to dodge another of May's shots.

Nodding to Pyrrha, the two of them advanced to engage Brawnz and Roy. As Nora leapt from ledge to ledge in an attempt to scale the mountain, the rest of her team strove to divert attention from her.

Roy flung his chakram at Jaune, impacting his shield, but stunning him as the second disc bumped the shield into Jaune's face. Seeing him taken care of, Roy used both chakram and pounded into Pyrrha's shield, trying to break her defense.

Shaking himself off, Jaune regained his senses and moved to engage Brawnz once more.

* * *

 **Terrances, Amity Coliseum**

"Yeah! Go get 'em, Jaune!" Ruby cheered loudly with a fist pumped as she watched her friend fight.

"You got this, _amico_!" Ezio joined in, adding loud whistles for good measure.

"I have to say, he's really improved!" Adé added in, noting Jaune's considerable jump in skill as he clashed blades with Brawnz.

"You did a good job training him, Altaïr." Blake said to the hooded man watching Jaune silently.

"Yes, I guess I did, but this wasn't all me." He replied with pride as all heads were turned to Pyrrha, who was fighting Nolan, Roy and Brawnz all at once with Jaune.

* * *

 **Arena, Amity Coliseum**

She landed a kick at Brawnz, before leaping into the air with a flip to dodge Roy's chakram, blocking one disc with her shield and flinging her javelin at Nolan before leaping back with a rising kick towards Brawnz.

May aimed once more, trying to hit Ren, who was sprinting towards her, strafing left and right to avoid her shots. Ren jumped and rolled to leap over a flying chakram and then opened fire at a stunned Nolan, swinging his pistol's blades left and right, trying to hit his opponent.

Clashing weapons, Ren then kicked into either side of his abdomen, stunning Nolan so that he could push the prod behind Nolan and hook it against his neck, using him as a meat shield.

Seeing this, May turned away from Ren and focused her sights on Nora, who had nearly reached the top of the mountain.

"Nora!" Ren cried out, alerting Jaune to the predicament at hand. Looking to his Spartan partner, he pushed Brawnz off of him and called out to her.

"Pyrrha, up!"

With this, Pyrrha ran towards Jaune, using her shield to smack away a flying disc and flipped up onto Jaune's shield, leaping up as Jaune pushed her up.

As May aligned her shot, she pulled the trigger, ready to end Nora. However, Pyrrha rose into the air with her shield in front of her, absorbing the shot and sending Pyrrha flying backwards.

With this, Nora finally stood up at the peak of the mountain, raising her hammer high. A bolt of lightning descended from the storm cloud above, striking Magnhild and charging Nora's body with heavenly power.

Compacting Magnhild back into its grenade launcher form, Nora flicked a switch on it, causing the barrel to open as she charged the weapon with electricity.

Pulling the trigger, all six grenades were fired from the launcher, sailing over to May's position in the forest biome.

Looking up at the hail of explosives coming her way, May could only whimper in fear as the pipes incinerated a patch of trees, leaving a smoking crater where May used to be.

May coughed as the smoke forced her to descend from her treetop cover. Turning their attention away from their sniper, the rest of Team BRNZ looked up to the mountaintop to see Nora flying down towards them with Magnhild raised high above her head, bright pink energy charging into her arms.

Slamming the hammer into the ground, Nora blew apart the ground beneath her, sending out a powerful shockwave that blew the rest of Team BRNZ back to where May was standing, disoriented and weak.

Seeing their chance, Jaune addressed his team. "This is it, guys! Let's finish 'em with team attacks!"

"REN! NORA! FLOWER POWER!"

"Wait, what?..." Nora asked, confused.

Pausing from his triumphant moment, he turned back to the two of them. "F-flower Power…"

To this, Nora and Ren only shrugged in confusion.

"T-that's your team attack name."

"Since… when?" Ren asked, still confused.

Jaune groaned loudly. "Uuughh guys, we've been over this! Flower Power is Ren and Nora! Ren brings the flower, Nora brings the power!"

"How… do I 'bring' a flower?" Ren asked, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"No, silly! Not _a_ flower! _Flour_! Like in baking!" Nora suggested cheerily.

"Why would I 'bring' _that_?" Ren asked again.

"N-n-no! It's your symbol!..." Jaune tried to explain to the ninja boy.

"So… what are we?" Pyrrha asked Jaune.

"Pyrrha!..." Jaune exclaimed in annoyance.

"S-sorry! I just want to make sure it's clearly defined!" Pyrrha replied with flustered cheeks.

* * *

 **Terrances, Amity Coliseum**

"…" Everyone could only stare in disbelief and bafflement at the spectacle before them. They came looking for a fight and… they decide to have a team discussion right then and there?!

"What… the fuck?" was all Edward could mutter as he sipped from his root beer.

"Let's be real, I would've done that, too." Jacob said with a mischievous grin.

"Umm… I guess it makes sense…" Ruby said, with nods of agreement coming from the rest of Team RWBY and Team ACEE.

"Wait, what?" Arno asked her.

"Did you really think we came up with those team attacks overnight?" Altaïr asked with a hint of annoyance as his face cringed from memories of agony and hours of sleep lost to practice.

* * *

 **Arena, Amity Coliseum**

Brawnz was just beginning to come to his senses along with his team, but instead of seeing Team JNPR wailing down on them to finish them off, his eyes widened to see them… talking amongst themselves.

"Pyrrha, you and I are Arkos! It's that thing when we take our shields… remember?!" He heard Jaune ask Pyrrha.

"Arkos?"

"Yeah! It's our names put together!" Jaune answered.

"Y-yeah, right! I-I get it…" Pyrrha replied.

"What, do you not like it?" Jaune asked her, noticing her faltering tone.

" Wha-No! No! It's… good?..."

"Hmmm…. I sensed hesitation!" Nora cheekily added.

But soon, Brawnz had enough. "HEY!"

"Hm?" Team JNPR turned to face the man who had oh, so rudely interrupted their discussion.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Brawnz asked in annoyance.

"Trying to have a team meeting! Thank you very little!" Jaune replied with equal annoyance.

"Yeah! Team ears only!" Nora added angrily.

Team BRNZ looked to each other, but only shrugged in confusion.

"WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT!" Brawnz yelled at Team JNPR.

"AND WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONVERSATION! WHAT DON'T YOU GET ABOUT THAT?!" Jaune furiously yelled back in reply.

"Uuuhh, Jaune?..." Pyrrha addressed the blonde, who sighed in response.

"Yes, Pyrrha?"

"I think he means that we're _all_ in the middle of a fight?" She said, gesturing to the arena around them all, with the roars of the crowd filling their ears once more, reminding them what exactly they were doing there.

"Uuuhhh…" Rebecca could only mutter under her breath at this predicament, while Shaun sat with a palm on his face.

With this, Jaune pressed his sword against his temple in embarrassment and sighed. "Nora, just… hit 'em with the hammer."

With this, Nora's crazed, maniacal grin returned. "Got it!"

"Wait…. What?!"

That was all that Brawnz could say before Nora had landed in front of him and his team with her hammer drawn back for a swing. Before any of them could react, all four of them found themselves pressed against the borders of the arena, bruised and hurt all over as the buzzer sounded.

"Uh… and with that, Team JNPR wins by knockout! Literally!" Rebecca announced, still confused as to what the fuck caused them to stop and talk mid-fight.

"Uhh… we also need a medic in the arena for Team BRNZ…." Shaun said, cringing at how some limbs were bent the wrong way.

* * *

 **The Crow Bar (damn you, Barb), Vale**

At the docks, many a man would come by some of the bars looking for different things. Whether they be searching for contentment, companionship or comfort, the barman at the Crow Bar had seen it all.

But one guest kept coming back, and he never grew tired of the drinks. He had to admit, having a regular really did feel good, but looking at that sorry, goofy face every time he would down a glass did make him feel a bit sick by the third glass.

Nonetheless, the grizzled huntsman was always a welcome customer, even if he was a bit of an asshat. Sipping from his glass of whiskey, the man looked up to the TV to catch the news broadcast of the tournament, observing Team JNPR's victory over Team BRNZ.

Washing a glass in his hand with a cloth, the bartender was also watching. "Huh, those kids weren't half bad."

"Mmmph…" Was all the grizzled patron could mutter back in reply before taking another sip from his glass.

* * *

 **Amity Coliseum, Above Beacon Academy (TEAMS ROUND 3: ACEE VS. NDGO)**

"Oooh, Vacuans in the audience are sure to be hurting after that last round!" Rebecca announced as the camera went live again.

"Very true, Rebecca. But I feel this next round is sure to have everybody on a knife's edge!" Shaun continued with an excited grin.

"Turning heads with awe and envy, Team NDGO of Shade is certainly a crowd favorite!" Rebecca announced.

"But it seems that these lovely ladies are going up against some of the toughest, deadliest and most rugged combatants we've seen so far!" Shaun added with vigor.

"And there they are now! Team ACEE of Beacon!" Rebecca yelled, spotting the four assassins stepping out onto the ring below.

The appearances of the members of Team ACEE triggered a resounding rise in cheers from the Beacon alumni in the audience, especially among the females.

After all, Ezio could easily be the most desirable man in Beacon with his looks, and Edward was friends with everybody on campus to an extent. Altaïr's brain was unrivaled in the classroom, on par with Weiss' intellect, and Connor was kind in spite of his intimidating frame, and bullies had come to fear him since Cardin.

In whatever way possible, Team ACEE was a special bunch to those at Beacon Academy. As the four stepped out into the ring, this could not be more clear as the crowd's cheers rose higher and higher.

Altaïr's instincts were aggravated by all the attention he drew, but he quelled this frustration under his breath, knowing he was to fight with the whole world watching. With this, he smiled reluctantly and waved with his team.

Ezio always was one to steal the spotlight, and he loved it with a passion. Whenever he would strike a wink into the audience, that section would spike with the noise of excited shrieks and cheers. It was nice to put on a show, but Ezio still remembered to keep his eye on a certain ice queen amidst the crowd as he waved to his fans around him.

Connor had to admit to himself, having so much eyes on him threw him off, but turning to the terraces and seeing Blake, Sun and the rest cheering him on comforted him. People were rooting for him, and he wasn't about to let them down.

Edward's devilish grin only grew with the roar of the audience as he looked around, soaking in the atmosphere of the coliseum. Being a pirate, attention was as big a prize as any treasure, and a reputation was something that needed to be cared for and maintained in Nassau. About time Edward made a new one right now.

"Good luck, Ezio!" Weiss called out from the terraces, attracting the attention of the aforementioned assassin and causing him to wave back.

Turning in front of him, Ezio spotted their opponents standing opposite them; four beautiful young women dressed in combat attire.

The leader, Nebula Violette smiled calmly as she stood. She had indigo-blue hair brushed over to the left, and wore a light blue coat over a gray shirt, with a single pauldron strapped on her right shoulder. In her hands, she held a crossbow that appeared to possess a blade, not too different in design to Altaïr's weapon.

Standing on her right was Dew Gayl, wearing a commanding and indifferent frown on her face. Her dark blonde hair was short, and she wore a green dress with fishnets. Gripped in her hand was a long halberd, decorated with a dust crystal, presumably its power source.

Behind were the two others. Gwen Darcy was a darker-skinned woman with short and curly black hair, wearing a black corset dress with purple laces. Armored plates hung from each side of her waist, carrying sets of throwing knives in each. Octavia Ember stood beside her, carrying her wavy kris blade in her hand. Wearing a blue vest over a brown skirt, her hair was long and deep red.

To be blunt, Ezio was _pretty_ impressed with what he was seeing. Putting on a sly smile, he went full casanova mode. " _Buongiorno_ , _bellas. E come stai questa bella mattina_?" He suavely addressed Team NDGO, encouraging red flushes to briefly grace their cheeks.

With this, Altaïr shoved his partner aside by the face and addressed the enemy team. "Please forgive my partner for his idiocy. It seems he doesn't know when to stop thinking with his di-"

"Yeah, he's dumb." Edward added quickly, to which Ezio simply winked and fired off a finger gun at the girls, eliciting a more obvious reaction from the females in the audience and in front of him.

Soon, roulettes appeared, surrounding the ring. On each display were images representing certain biomes, shuffling through them at high speed.

On the girls' side, the roulette stopped at a bright yellow display with a sun image. With this, the floor under Team NDGO's side of the arena parted to reveal a desert environment with sand and rock formations.

A miniature sun even flickered to life above the biome, prompting members of the audience to put on sunglasses.

"Alright! Home field advantage!" Nebula cheered with a grin. Training back at Shade under the beating hot sun with the sea of sand that was the Vacuan desert under their feet was about to pay off for the girls.

"I wouldn't be so confident. Born and raised a Kanien'kehá." Connor threw back with a prideful grin, jabbing a thumb at his chest. Growing up on those deserts with the tribe meant the desert was a second home to Connor, even if he had left to join the Fang not too long after.

Behind the assassins, the roulette stopped as well, but this one was blue, bearing the image of an island with a single palm tree. "Hey! The ocean!"

"Huh?" Was all Edward could mutter, looking behind him with wide eyes. He saw the biome appear from the bottom of the arena, parting the floor to reveal sandbanks dotting a shallow body of blue water. Resting atop was a shipwreck, and once Edward had laid his eyes on the wreck, his eyes lit up with delight.

"YES! YEEEEESSS!" Edward exclaimed in joy. He knew ships and beaches like the back of his hand, and in this environment, he would be dominating the competition and wiping the floor with them.

"Three..." Rebecca began.

At this, both teams stood with their weapons ready. Altaïr unstrapped his crossbow from his back, flicking it in his hand, switching it to his sword. Nebula noticed this and smiled once she realized they wielded the same weapons. Both team leaders took note and locked glares with one another.

"Two..." Rebecca continued into the mic.

Ezio unsheathed his sword and scanned Team NGDO for his first target. Locking eyes with Octavia, he noticed how she held that dagger in her hands with such confidence and stress. He could almost sense the aggression wafting off of her form, almost emenating from her aura. Smiling slyly, he raised his hood, ready for a fight.

"One..."

Connor flicked out his pivot blade and twirled out his tomahawk while Edward unsheathed his dual cutlasses. Connor picked out his target, seeing Dew's weapon of choice and presuming her level of strength based on the strength and dexterity that would be required to wield a polearm of that size. Nodding to Edward, he did the same and took the last picking.

"Begin!" The announcer exclaimed, prompting both teams to move.

"Open fire!" Nebula ordered her team, who all advanced to engage Team ACEE.

With this, Edward made a mad dash for the shipwreck and Altaïr ran for the rock mountain in the desert biome, reverting his sword back into a crossbow. This left Ezio and Connor to engage Team NDGO.

Connor ran up to Dew, leaping at her with his tomahawk raised. Seeing this, Dew raised her weapon with both hands, feeling the powerful force of Connor's strength push down on her once metal clashed with metal.

Regaining their footing both fighters stood with their weapons raised. However, Dew only smiled as the crystal on her spear began to spark to life. Spinning the weapon, strong winds heeded her movements and swirling dust devils began to form in the sand.

Connor flinched and moved back, holding his hands in front of him to block the sand and dust from entering his eyes, but as the winds grew stronger, Connor's eyes grew wide as he braced himself and rapidly reached for his rope dart.

As the twisters grew larger, they encircled Connor and began to close in. Connor felt his feet leave the ground as the powerful winds threw him into the distance. However, he threw his rope dart at the last second, the rope pulling him back as he diverted his direction back into the arena.

Meanwhile, Ezio had caught up with Octavia. The girl was lightning fast, surfing on the dunes of sand, trailing fire from her kris dagger. " _She's trying to get me off her tail._ " Ezio realized. Time for a detour.

From his perch, Altaïr aimed with his crossbow, using his sharp senses to lock onto his targets. Shifting his gaze to Gayl, who was running to assist Octavia, he narrowed his gaze and aimed.

However, he jerked away to a different target, realizing he had been spotted. Flipping backwards, he had just missed Nebula's arrows whizzing past the skin of his face.

Returning to his feet, he leapt off of the rocky crag and aimed down at his opponent, firing off a barrage of arrows as he soared down to the ground. Anticipating Altaïr's move, Nebula rolled to the side, dodging as much arrows as she could.

However, before she could return fire, the assassin pressed a button on his weapon, and once Nebula noticed the arrows surrounding her, she could do little other than jump away, only to be caught in the blast and blowing away a sizable chunk of her aura.

Back with Ezio, he changed course from his pursuit of Octavia, and climbed up one of the crags sticking out from the sandy dunes. Reaching the top, the young assassin spotted the young woman and waited for the right time to strike.

Seeing Octavia zoom by, he descended with his hidden blades extended. Mirroring an owl, Ezio made no sound as he descended, only a killer's instinct controlling his movements.

Pinning the girl down by the back, his hidden blades fought against her aura, the ethereal energy crackling across Octavia's form. But before any real damage could be done, Octavia pushed Ezio off of her and spun with her dagger, sending an arc of flames his way. Strafing to the right to dodge, Ezio then retaliated by firing off a shot from his hidden gun, and another from his heavy pistol.

Octavia anticipated the larger shot, but it left her vulnerable to the smaller bullet, which dug into her leg and staggered the young warrior. It was a short opening, but it was all Ezio needed to enter in with a slash across the chest, an elbow jab into the chin and a thrust into the stomach.

Spotting Dew coming toward him, Ezio only waited for her to spin up another twister. As the girl began to move her staff, swirling up the winds into spinning tornadoes, Ezio grabbed the dazed Octavia by the arm and swung her into the path of the dust devils.

Octavia stumbled forward, then the winds picked her off of the ground and threw her into the air. Far too drained to do anything from the beatdown Ezio gave her, Octavia did nothing as she crashed outside the rim of the arena, cueing the buzzer's noise.

"Ooh! Ring out! ACEE gains the advantage!" Rebecca declared, causing the crowd to cheer louder.

Witnessing Ezio ring out her teammate, Gwen growled in anger and grabbed a fistful of throwing knives from her dress. But the noise of a boom in the distance drew her attention. Gasping once her eyes found the source, she dodged what appeared to be a cannonball shooting her way.

Edward grinned maniacally as he lit cannon after cannon on the shipwreck. Luckily for him, the wreck's magazine was anything but empty, and he had plenty of firepower to work with. He adjusted the sights on the massive gun and lit the fuse, a loud boom following.

Altaïr halted his clash with Nebula to leap backwards, missing the blast from a stray cannonball. " _Good grief, you drunk..._ " He thought to himself, mentally facepalming.

By now, everybody had their eyes on Edward, and the remaining members of Team NDGO began to get in closer to the wreck. This in turn, drew the assassins in as well.

As Dew came in closer, she ducked behind a rock, feeling a bullet strike it with an audible thunk. Growling, she rose and spun up her spear again, summoning more twisters to encircle the wreck.

This allowed Nebula to get in closer and leap onto the mast of the ship. Noticing this, Edward only turned around menacingly with a wicked grin gracing his features. With this, he raised one sword towards the girl and spoke in a deep, intimidating tone.

"Get. Off. My. Ship. Captain's orders."

At this, both swordfighters rushed each other, clashing blades furiously. Edward leapt forward, both blades rising with his ascent, which Nebula countered by flipping backwards and throwing back a straight jab aimed at the chest. However, Edward turned quickly enough for his cutlass to swat the blade away from his body.

Using his chance, Edward followed with a swift kick to the chest, throwing Nebula down from the mast and down into the sand. At this, the buzzer sounded again once the indigo-haired girl hit the ground.

"And that's two! Team ACEE is on fire today!"

Directing his gaze below, Edward sneered in victory, but set his sights on Gwen, who was neck-to-neck with Connor, her knives cutting away at his aura as he tried to get close. Lining up his pistol's sights, he aimed carefully.

But all of a sudden, a sharp pain rang out from Edward's back, and he gasped for air as he felt the power force of metal cutting into his aura from behind. From below, Dew pumped her fist in victory as her spear landed a direct hit on Edward's back, throwing him from the ship's mast and into the sandbanks below, unconscious.

"Karma's a bitch, Rebecca. It's 3 on 2!" Shaun joked.

Running to retrieve her weapon, Dew gasped as she looked to her right to see the glowing, transparent form of a wolf bounding towards her. Standing her ground, she waited for the beast to get closer, then kicked with a loud battle cry.

Hitting the energy construct in the chin, the wolf sprawled onto the ground, before dissipating into thin air. Grinning, Dew picked up her spear from Edward's limp body and leapt in to join up with Gwen.

Meanwhile, Gwen was barely keeping up with Ezio and Altaïr. With her knives, she could do little against the two assassins and ran as fast as she could away from her enemies, flicking throwing knives as she ran.

However, Altaïr was able to dodge them easily, blocking some with his bracers. Raising his crossbow, he took aim at Gwen and almost pulled the trigger when he turned to see Dew flying toward him with her spear raised.

Leaping out of the way, Altaïr retaliated by swinging his sword upwards in her direction, only for her to block the attack with her spear in both hands and spinning around with a jab into Altaïr's side using the butt of her halberd, stunning him and leaving him open for Gwen to flick a handful of knives at his back, nipping away his aura.

With this, Dew moved to stab the head of the spear at Altaïr's chest, but turned around in the nick of time to swing her spear at an approaching Connor with his tomahawk out.

Moving quickly, Gwen pulled out more throwing knives to assist her remaining teammate, but was caught off-guard by a sharp jolt she felt on her back. The pain was sharp and quick, but the bullet was still staggering enough for her to nearly lose composure of her aura. Turning, she could barely react as Ezio leapt at her with his left arm raised.

Slamming her down under the weight of his body, Ezio threw down his arm, jamming his hidden blade into Gwen's aura and rendering the girl defenseless.

"And that's three! It all comes down to this, folks!" Shaun announced loudly as Dew was the last one standing.

Her spear in shaking hands, Dew stared down her three opponents, all three standing with their respective weapons in hand. Gritting her teeth, the young woman slammed the end of her spear into the ground, channeling her aura through the weapon.

All of a sudden, powerful winds began to surround her, tornadoes swirling with powerful force. Seeing this phenomenon, Altaïr nodded to his teammates, as did they, cueing them to start moving.

Connor ran a safe distance towards the desert biome and breathed, focusing his senses. With this, the forms of two wolves made of light blue energy appeared next to the assassin, and heeding his mental command, moved to attack their opponent, circling Dew, who had surrounded herself by a barrier of stormy winds.

Ezio ducked and rolled to avoid the powerful winds of the twisters, using his pistol to attempt shots, but Dew only smacked them away with her spear or leapt away to dodge.

Altaïr did the same, shooting off arrows at the girl, but achieving similar results. Connor's wolves managed to break through the winds and attack Dew, distracting her by biting and pouncing, but the girl only pushed one off with her spear, and turned to shove the spearhead down another's throat, causing it to disappear.

But as she fought, she could only barely hear the faint sound of a beeping noise, alerting her and causing her to look at her feet to see Altaïr's arrows. Dew's eyes widened, but before she could leap away, it was already too late.

"Bull's eye." Altaïr muttered under his breath with a victorious smirk, clicking the button on his crossbow.

Dew could only scream at the top of her lungs as the terrific explosion engulfed her and blew her away, her unconscious and battered body falling into the water under the shipwreck.

With this final knockout, the buzzer sounded for the last time that round as Rebecca spoke into the mic again. "And with that, Team NDGO retires! Team ACEE is victorious!"

"Y'know what I'd call that victory?" Rebecca asked her partner.

"Explosive?" Shaun replied questioningly with a raised eyebrow and a smartass smirk.

"No. Well-earned. Shut up, you idiot. Dimwit. Shaun Hastings." Rebecca deadpanned in response.

"H-hey, now! 'Shaun Hastings' isn't an insult!"

* * *

 **The Crow Bar (again, damn you Barb), Vale**

"Whoo! Now that was a match!" The bartender excitedly exclaimed, watching the match as he wiped a shot glass with a cloth.

However, his customer only raggedly chuckled under his breath while swirling the whiskey in his glass. "Heh. That was a mess!" He growled drunkedly with a grin on his face.

The bartender turned around with a raised brow. What was his deal? "Oh come on, man! You didn't like them? The Vale kids? What fight're you here for?"

The dusty man opened his mouth to reply, but he stopped once he heard the distant noise of an aircraft engine.

Turning his head, he could see a particularly large ship sailing over the harbor. The ship appeared to be military-grade, lined with guns and trailing white ceremonial flags under its wings.

Chuckling, a wicked grin curled across the man's face knowing _she_ was arriving. Time for payback. " _That_ one."

Standing up woozily, the veteran huntsman chugged down the contents of his glass, but immediately burped in his haste. Laughing to himself, he lazily slammed down his glass onto the bar with a handful of lien.

"Happy Vytal Festival!" He drunkedly mumbled to the bartender before staggering his way outside.

Sighing in exasperation, the bartender moved to pick up the man's glass, and as he turned to put it in the sink, he accidentally knocked over a second glass on the counter, causing it to crash and break into dozens of pieces on the ground.

"Aw, gee darn it..."

" _It always seemed to be bad luck around here. Why was that?_ " The man thought to himself as he knelt down with a broom to pick up the shards that fell on the ground.

Outside, the man moved quickly, feeling wind moving against his face, his sharp eyes following the aircraft through the air.

However, he looked to his side to see an odd sight. It was a hawk, with elegant autumn brown feathers lining outstretched wings, its robust body lifted high. But one look in its eyes, and all he saw were one thing; killing intent.

Flying beside him, the man only chuckled to himself as he sped towards Beacon Academy. " _Race you there._ " He thought to himself as he picked up speed.

* * *

 **Amity Coliseum, Above Beacon Academy**

The crowd resounded with a loud cheer, echoing from spectator to spectator throughout the terraces and in the audience, Team RWBY let out a breath of relief in unison.

"Hey, what'd we tell you?" Arno said to Team RWBY, confident that his brothers would've won. The four-man group that was Team ACEE were highly skilled, even among their fellow assassins, and for this, Arno highly respected them as fellow brothers.

Ruby only leaned back into her chair and groaned. "Oh, man! That was close!"

"Well, looks like the pretty boys made it to the next round!" Yang added.

With this, Weiss and Blake only looked down at the arena, watching the three standing members of Team ACEE waving to the crowd or patting each other on the back.

Ezio was addressing the massive attention he was getting, basking in his new adulation. But upon fixing his eyes on Team RWBY's seats, he smirked mischievously. Planting a kiss on his finger, he pointed that finger at Weiss, adding a wink for good measure.

Laughing with Altaïr amidst tired gasps for breath, Connor turned to his childhood friend sitting in the terraces and only nodded with a modest smile.

From this, both girls blushed prominently, blood rushing through their faces rapidly.

"E-er... yes... I-I guess..." Weiss stuttered like a dying cat, her brain scrambling to cooperate with her lips with butterflies in her stomach. Why must he tease her like this? The nerve!

"Yeah... I guess they did." Blake blankly replied, her mind lost in her emotions. Her eyes glazed with a dumb smile, she only kept her eyes down below, matching Connor's modesty with a kind smile.

"And that concludes the matched for today! Please leave the coliseum in a calm and orderly fashion!" Shaun's voice sounded over the loudspeakers.

"C'mon! Let's go congratulate 'em!" Yang said, motioning the others to follow her as she got up from her seat.

But as Weiss began to leave her seat, she looked up to see a familiar-looking Atlesian ship. Eyes widening, she stopped in her tracks, causing Ruby to bump into her from behind.

"Oof! I-uh... w-what are you doing?" Ruby asked her, but she gave no answer.

Smiling wider than she'd ever have in a long time, she only muttered quietly to herself.

"She came..."

* * *

 **Up next: Enter the Veterans!**

 **Hey, there! It's been one month, but I finally got off my lazy ass and finished this chapter! I cannot tell you how tired I am right now! Anyway, did you guys know that my story is now the most reviewed AC/RWBY crossover fic on the site? Crazy! Lately, I guess I've been playing way too much TF2 over the holiday! I'm probably gonna be pretty late for the next one, but in other news, I've been meaning to ask you guys; I've been thinking about writing new crossover fics. I've been starting working on an Akame ga Kill/TF2 crossover, but I've also been thinking about a Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Sword Art Online crossover! I've put a poll up on my profile and I'd appreciate it if you'd check it out! By the way, did you know that I've officially been a member of for 1 year? Thank you everybody for supporting me! So yeah! As always, leave a review, be patient and I wish you and your families all a very happy Christmas and Happy New Year! BYE-BYE!**

 **Omni warrior: Probably not then, but I got something else in mind.**

 **merendinoemiliano: Yes he was, indeed.**

 **treyalexander63917: Actually, you're right. I think that I would obviously have Connor meet up with Blake, but he didn't come entirely for her. Maybe he was dispatched by the Brotherhood to investigate matters there or he came to Menagerie under reports from a contact or through an investigation.**

 **Shadowwolf1997: Yeah, I guess so, but then again, Scarlet and Sage were kinda extras anyway.**

 **Guest: Good for you, have a Snickers.**

 **Guest: Thank you!**

 **FalconHockey102: Cool, but then again, the Great war was apparently 80 years before the events of the story so who knows? He might be alive. Hell, he might be the current Mentor.**

 **Guest: Nice way of seeing it. In fact, it might just work…**

 **Guest: Nice idea! I'll think about it, but what you're suggesting sounds like it could work.**

 **Mitch: How would you know for sure? They never actually confirmed her semblance, plus, I just needed an explanation.**

 **Batmd: Sounds about right.**

 **Guest: Ah. Claudia and Petruccio are still studying, because if Ezio's a first-year in Beacon, I wouldn't imagine them anywhere else.**

 **Sam hill: Yes, a long one no doubt, but not my longest.**

 **: More is here!**

 **Cmedina1: I think I have an idea for that.**

 **YoRHa-A2: Next one is here!**

 **Guest: Yeahhh…**

 **TauntSup3rs3t24: Oh darling, you flatter me.**

 **Guest: Okay, look. I understand that this would be cool, but adding Aveline purely for the sake of being a love interest doesn't really ring with me, considering I haven't been using her a whole lot. Not that I'm saying I'm opposed to it, but I guess I just want something natural here.**


	28. The Hunter

**Landing Bay, Beacon Academy**

As Weiss ran ahead, Ruby could only pant in exhaustion as she followed close behind. She had never seen Weiss so excited before, and next thing she knew, she had found herself chasing her partner down the courtyard.

"Weiss! What's the big deal? Who is it?! Who is _she_?!"

Weiss looked ahead with a beaming smile, towards the large ship docking at the bay, its doors opening to reveal someone stepping out.

"Winter."

"Wait…" Ruby muttered.

"Your sister?"

The woman named Winter Schnee soon made herself visible as she stepped down from her ship, accompanied by a pair of AK-200 robots. The young woman shared much features with her little sister, including their pearly skin tone, snow-white hair, and cold ice-blue eyes. However, Winter frequently wore a white military coat over a blue suit that opened to expose her shoulders, with a rapier sheathed at her waist. She also possessed more developed curves than her sister, and her hair was styled in a fringe that covered her right eye and all tied up with a bun on the back of her scalp.

"Winter!" Weiss called out rather loudly.

This caught Winter's attention as she turned to face her sister, her ice-cold glare unshifting as the pair of Ruby and Weiss ran up to her.

"Winter! I'm so happy to see you!" Weiss began with giddy excitement, but quickly composed herself, lest she be subjected to yet another lecture about 'ladylike manners'.

"Oh! -um…. I mean… Your presence honors us." She quickly corrected herself, adding a curtsy for good measure.

Winter paced slowly towards the two of them, her hands held behind her waist as she observed the surrounding campus. "Beacon. It's been a long time. The air feels… different."

"Well, I mean it _is_ fall… so it's probably colder…" Ruby added awkwardly, prompting Weiss to ball her hand into a fist and slam it down onto Ruby's head, causing the little girl to drop to the ground with a face lined with agony.

"So! What're you doing here?" Weiss asked her sister excitedly.

"Classified." The young woman replied icily.

"Oh… and how long are you staying?" she asked a second time.

"Classified." Winter repeated.

"Of course."

After this, an awkward silence befell the three of them, with Ruby speaking up to break the silence. "Well… this is nice… I think?"

"You're going to love it here! I know you travel a lot, but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas! Vale too… The government and school are completely separate! Can you believe it?! I-" Weiss started to spout off before being abruptly cut off by Winter.

"I'm more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its… bureaucracy. But that is not why I came." Winter stated.

"Right. I'm sorry." Weiss quickly replied.

"Nor did I come to witness my own blood fail so miserably in battle. But it appears I have no choice in the matter." Winter added coldly.

"But… we won!" Weiss retaliated meekly.

"Only a novice would refer to that as a victory. I counted at least _three_ strikes missed." Winter replied with a icy monotonous tone, causing Weiss to shrink in on herself.

But with this, the elder Schnee sighed. "Leave us." She said out loud, waving off the two robots behind her, and causing them to walk back into the ship.

"How have you been?" Winter asked her sister, managing a small smile.

With that, Weiss' confidence returned as a haughty grin crept up her face. "Oh, splendid! Thank you for asking. I'm actually the very top ranked in our sparring class! I'm al-"

But before she could continue, a gloved palm struck Weiss over the head, causing a rather prominent bump to appear.

"Silence, you boob! I don't recall asking about your ranking! I've asked how you've _been._ Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?" Winter asked Weiss, now soundingmore like an overbearing mother.

"Well, there's Ruby…" Weiss replied, gesturing to the little girl next to her, beaming her endless smile and pushing Weiss's bump back into her head.

"Heh. Boob…"

Winter turned to observe Ruby, her eyes furrowing in slight disappointment. "I see. So this is the 'leader' you wrote of. How appropriately… underwhelming."

Not quite catching on to Winter's jargon, Ruby only replied awkwardly. "Uhh… thank you…"

"Greetings, Ruby Rose. I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister." Winter said to Ruby, triggering a confused reaction.

"Oh, uh… of course! The honor is in my… court!" Ruby replied, attempting to curtsy with her skirt, only to end up losing her balance and flailing her arms wildly in an attempt to regain her footing.

"I have business with the general and your headmaster. But seeing as I'm early, why don't you take me to your quarters?" Winter suggested to Weiss, whose smile beamed brighter.

"Really?" Weiss asked joyfully.

"Yes. I wish to inspect them to make sure they are up to my personal standards." Winter said as she walked with Weiss, robots following behind with firearms ready.

"Of course. Just so you know, the bunk beds only look unstable."

"Bunk… beds?..."

"I'll catch u-" Ruby began before stopping herself.

"I mean… I will… reconvene with you both… at a later… juncture!" Ruby reworded herself, not even knowing what the hell she was saying.

"At a juncture, yeah!"

* * *

 **Courtyard, Beacon**

On most days, the courtyard of Beacon Academy was quiet, with the occasional student or two walking down the walkway or sitting under the rosy red shade of the trees.

But during the Vytal Festival, this place was far more crowded and busy, with students and people from all over the world walking the campus grounds, with robots walking up and down the walkway.

Narrowing his eyes, he had found his target, strutting around like she owned the damn place in a way that made his blood boil. All he needed to take care of were these… stupid… machines.

Hearing the sound of electricity sparking, wires snapping and metal clanking, Winter turned around to see _him_.

He wore a gray and black suit decorated with a tattered red cape behind him, unbuttoned to reveal his upper chest, which he decorated with a necklace bearing a sideways cross, complementing his thin and lanky frame. His face was hardened and sharp, with a definitive scruff lining his pointed chin.

His eyes were a muted, yet deep red and his ivory black hair slicked back and falling messily in locks over his forehead.

"HEY! Yeah… I'm talkin' to you, Ice Queeeeen…" his gruff and dusty voice called out.

In his hands, he held a robot, its head torn clean from its neck, and another lying in pieces at his feet.

"Halt!" Winter ordered loudly, cueing the rest of her escort to stop in their tracks and aim their guns at the man.

"Excuse me!" Weiss exclaimed while strutting up to the grizzled man.

"Do you have any idea who you're referring to?!" Weiss asked him in outrage, jabbing a finger at his chest.

"SSHhhshsHSHSHhshhsh…" The man woozily droned under his alcohol-scented breath, while slapping a finger to his lips and his palm on her face.

"Not you…" He said, pushing Weiss aside to exchange a death glare at the elder woman ahead down the path, mirroring his own intensity.

" _You_."

"Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town. Guess you're here too." He mumbled, but loudly enough for Winter to hear and reply.

"I'm standing right before you."

The man squinted, unoiled gears grinding in his numbed brain before he smirked mischievously. "So it would seem."

"You do realize you've just destroyed Atlas military property?" Winter said with her icy, commanding tone.

Turning to the remains of the robots he tore apart, he raised his hands defensively. "Oooh, I'm sorry… See, I mistook this for some sort of 'sentient garbage'."

"I don't have time for your immature games, _Qrow_!" Winter yelled at the dusty man.

"Wait… you two know each other?" Weiss asked her sister, but before she could get an answer, Qrow began to run his mouth more.

"Sheesh… you Atlas specialists think you're _soooo_ special…" He drunkedly threw at Winter.

"It's in the title." Winter snarkily replied.

"But y'know whatcha really are? A buncha sellouts! Just like your boss." He threw back.

"I don't know what you think you're implying, but I've heard _enough_!" Winter angrily threatened.

"Oh, I heard too! I heard ol' Jimmy finally turned his back on Ozpin!" Qrow said.

"Ozpin?" Weiss asked. What did their headmaster have to do with this?

"Weiss, it's time for you to leave." Winter told her sister, pushing her aside, knowing this was going to take a violent turn.

"Listen to big sister, Weiss! She'll protect ya. Just like Atlas is gonna protect all of us, huh?" Qrow replied, causing a vein on Winter's head to pop.

"If you won't hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you!" Winter declared with killing intent in her voice, unsheathing her sword and aiming the tip at Qrow's neck.

"Well…" Qrow chuckled to himself playfully, running his tongue through his fingers.

"Come take it." Qrow called out, slicking his hair back with a shit-eating grin.

After this, only dead silence followed, as several students had gathered around once they had noticed the commotion. Nobody made a sound or a stray movement, and the air was so tense one could hear the shrieks of a hawk in the far distance.

Suddenly, Weiss felt a rush of wind blow past her face, and turned to see her sister gone from her side and directly in front of Qrow.

Winter attacked with her sword, attempting multiple slashes and thrusts at Qrow's face, only for him to stand in place, casually leaning left and right to dodge her swings.

Gritting her teeth in anger, Winter picked up speed and swung for his neck, only for him to duck (or rather, take a bow). Seeing this, Winter flipped her grip on her sword in order to stab down on his back.

However, she only felt her blade strike metal as Qrow reached for the weapon slung to the back of his waist. Maneuvering Winter's rapier off of him, he twirled his weapon in his hand and brought it out in full view. In Qrow's hand was a massive broadsword, its length almost matching his own height. The segmented blade extended over the red hilt, connected by a series of small gears interlocking.

Examining the weapon, Winter assumed a stance as Qrow nicked the blade with hers, as a way of testing. Soon, Qrow advanced himself, his blade swiping left and right, trailing red arcs of energy with each swing. Winter flipped backwards in an attempt to dodge, before rising up again with her sword, blocking Qrow's next strike.

Eventually, an entire crowd had gathered to see the fight, forming a circle where the two fighters were locked in what could only be described as a dance of blades.

Ruby then arrived to see what was happening, finding Weiss amidst the crowd.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" Weiss exclaimed, gesturing to the fight down the courtyard.

"Oh no! Who would do such a th-AT IS MY UNCLE!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly once she realized who Winter was fighting.

"What?"

"KICK HER BUTT, UNCLE QROW!" Ruby yelled, cheering on her uncle.

"Uhh… TEACH HIM RESPECT, WINTER!" Weiss joined in, rooting for her sister.

Meanwhile in the crowd, Jack's eyes began to glow again once he sensed the return of high aggression in the air. His instincts taking over, he sought out the source.

As his eyes shone brighter and his senses urged him on, he wandered the campus grounds, eventually passing the crowd that had amassed around Qrow and Winter's fight. Drawn to the killing intent both fighters possessed, Jack's eyes widened with a toothy grin.

"Well, look who joined the party late." He muttered to himself, running back to his dorm to alert the rest of his team.

Winter advanced with two slashes, which Qrow only evaded before retaliating with a rising attack, continuing with a downwards swing, which Winter blocked without a problem, staggering under the blade's weight.

Taking advantage of this opening, Winter coiled her sword arm back and rushed the veteran huntsman with a thrust, but Qrow only pushed the blade up with his sword and swung for Winter's head, but hit her rapier instead.

Pushing both fighters back, the two of them sprung toward each other, blades clashing, but Qrow quickly recovered and attempted to swing for Winter's neck, but the military specialist narrowly ducked and swiftly returned a hit, slamming her rapier's hilt across the side of Qrow's head.

While this dazed him, a split second later, Qrow rose back up with a grin and a glint in his eye, raising his sword as high as he could.

Knowing what was to come, Winter cast a glyph under her feet and ejected off of the ground just as it was obliterated by an aura-infused slam from Qrow.

Looking above him, Qrow saw Winter smirking at him as she made her descent, falling down into the grassier fields of the courtyard.

Gritting his teeth, Qrow pursued her. Leaping at her, he slashed, cutting down a lamppost with his attack.

Winter jumped at Qrow, flipping above him and slashing with her spins, trying to hit him, but Qrow managed to block her attack with his broadsword. However, Winter wasn't finished, as she rose into the air again before Qrow could hit her with a horizontal slash.

Landing on top of Qrow's blade, her feet rested softly onto the flat of the broadsword, much to Qrow's confusion. Next thing he knew, Winter's high heels were digging into his face as she flipped out of range and onto the ground.s

Leaping behind her, she barely dodged Qrow as he threw his broadsword at her feet. Landing atop a lamppost, Winter jumped even higher as Qrow fired a shotgun shell at her.

The elder Schnee came up on one of the tall-standing arcs lining the courtyard, halting her descent by digging her rapier into the stone. Looking behind her, Winter could see Qrow running to pursue her. Using her glyphs, she proceeded to run up the wall and along the arc, dodging gunfire from Qrow's shotgun.

Running down the pathway, Qrow aimed his shotgun's barrel at the young woman, missing his shots every time. He then leapt up onto the arc opposite Winter's running along the edge in an attempt to get closer.

But all of a sudden, Winter disappeared, a large cloud of white mist obscuring her from sight. Reverting his gun, Qrow stared curiously at the cloud, waiting for her next move.

And suddenly, it came as Winter leapt from the mist, yelling a loud battle cry. Qrow grinned as he brought his blade in front of him, ready to strike back.

As she soared toward him, Winter pressed a button on her weapon's hilt, splitting her blade into two separate swords. Eyes narrowing, Qrow prepared for impact, but was caught off-guard as a powerful force engulfed him and threw him down to the ground, screaming.

The loud explosion alerted Winter, causing her to turn her head to the source of the shot. Looking above her, she was shocked to find the form of a man soaring through the air toward her, holding what appeared to be dual blades in his hands, positioned to slash away at her aura.

Next thing she knew, she felt a sharp pain impact her side as she plummeted back to the ground. Raising her head, she saw her attacker raise his weapons with a menacing glare.

The man wore what appeared to be a heavy high-collared black overcoat with red highlights, with thick gauntlets lining his arms. In his hands he held what seemed to be a cutlass and a long dagger and had a rather large rifle strapped to his back. His face was definitive, with a scar lining his brow, and his hair slicked back all the way, forming a ponytail in the back.

She aware who 'The Hunter' was, but right now, she couldn't be any less bothered by his reputation, seeing as how he rudely interrupted her teaching that dusty old drunk a lesson.

"And I thought Jim's cronies were supposed to be the orderly ones." Shay taunted Winter as he raised his dual blades.

Growling, Winter advanced towards Shay with her dual blades, slamming both down on him, only for him to casually deflect with his longer sword and retaliating by swiping his dagger at her. Slashing for Shay's neck, he only ducked and rose with his blade, slicing away at Winter's aura and quickly reached for his pistol and firing away a volley of bullets into her stomach.

Attempting a backhand slash at the older man, Winter was denied as Shay held his dagger along his back, blocking the hit and leaving him to do the same, only to meet the same fate as Winter caught the strike between her swords, pushing Shay off of her.

Thrown backwards, Shay dug his blades into the ground to slow his momentum before reassuming a stance.

Sighing, Winter tapped one of her blades into the pavement, kneeling with her head down. With this, a glyph appeared under her, with numerous birds began to rise from the glyph and encircle her, each animal glowing with the same light as her glyph.

With a series of caws, the birds began to fly toward Shay, who could do little other than cover his face with his hand while his other swatted away at the birds with his sword.

Winter smirked triumphantly. Perhaps now these idiots would think twice about bad-mouthing her.

However, the whistling noise of a grenade filled the air, prompting Winter to move out of the way, barely missing the explosion tearing apart a section of the courtyard.

Glaring at her new enemy, Winter summoned a glyph behind her, the energy pulsating with raw energy. Meanwhile, Shay had flicked his air rifle in his hands, causing it to begin transforming, metal folding and shifting to form what appeared to be a double-edged longsword.

Assuming a ready stance, Winter grinned in anticipation, and Shay glared back. However, Shay's eyebrow raised for a minute before he grinned, cancelling the transformation and slinging his rifle over his back again.

Squinting, Winter only stared in confusion as to why he hadn't attacked, but she then looked ahead to see Shay holding his arms out and grinning, as if taunting Winter to hit him.

Not willing to let him down, Winter unleashed a powerful battle cry as she raced toward Shay with the intent to kill, her sword aimed for his throat.

But before she could, Winter felt something grab her from behind by the shoulder. The hand was calm, almost as if the owner had casually walked up behind her.

"Winter."

Recognizing the voice, she turned to not only see Haytham Kenway holding her by the shoulder, but General Ironwood walking her way with a deadly glare, with a worried-looking Penny Polendina standing behind him. Quickly assuming a straight posture, she addressed her superiors.

"G-General Ironwood, Commander Kenway, Sirs!"

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" The tricone-wearing man sternly asked her.

"HEY! We aren't done YET, ICE QUEEEEeeeeee-" Qrow suddenly yelled, his entire body blackened from the grenade blast he tanked earlier, only to be shot down again by a sleep dart from Shay's rifle.

"He started the altercation, sir!" The young woman pointed at the drunk man's body accusingly.

"Hey, I don't think that's true. She swung first." Shay piped up from behind her.

"Is this true?" Ironwood asked sternly.

Winter opened her mouth to answer, but found no words as she slumped her head in defeat.

"And you…" Haytham turned to the newcomer, who only quizzically raised an eyebrow at the commander.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could be asking your general the same thing, Kenway." The aged man replied in his distinctive accent.

Before Haytham could respond, Ozpin arrived on the scene alongside Glynda, who used her semblance to repair the damage on the courtyard.

"Now everyone, there is a sanctioned fight just around the corner that I can assure you has better seats… and popcorn!" He addressed the crowd, clutching his favorite mug in his hand.

"Break it up, everyone! We will take care of this mess." Glynda sternly added, causing the crowd to disperse.

"Let's go." Ironwood said to his officers, cueing Haytham and Winter to follow their general, with the rest of the Knights to follow them.

Just then, Ruby arrived on the scene, just catching glimpse of the robots walking toward the campus, with Penny trailing closely behind. Spotting Ruby, Penny gave a cheerful wave, which was returned by her friend.

Ruby looked around for her uncle, but locked eyes with the large-looking man in the black and red coat looking at her with interest.

Shay couldn't deny the absolute familiarity in her face, and it reminded him so much of her that it almost scared him. Looking into Ruby's eyes, it almost was like she had never died…

"Shay!"

Said huntsman flinched from his trance and turned abruptly toward Ozpin.

"A word, if you will? And bring Qrow with you."

Narrowing his eyes at the headmaster, he could not shake what happened those years ago, but he sighed reluctantly as he suppressed these feelings. There was a reason why he left this club.

"Aye. Will do."

Walking over to Qrow, he picked up the drowsy man and slumped him over his shoulder. Qrow was beginning to come to his senses, mumbling drunkedly under his breath as the effects of the sleep dart only seemed to dull his senses more than the alcohol.

"Shaaayyyyy… I didn't ask for you to steal my date with Ice Queeeeennn…"

"Good lord, man. You're lucky I saved your arse. I'll get you a drink tonight, but don't expect me to do this again." He groaned, facepalming with his free hand.

"Heh. Lucky. What about you, huh?" Qrow spat.

With this, Shay only smiled. "I told you, I make my own luck."

"Works for meeee..." Qrow drawled before nodding off, snoring loudly.

* * *

 **Headmaster's Office, Beacon Academy**

Winter paced back and forth in the office, her mind racing in several directions at once after receiving quite the talk from her general.

Said general stood beside Ozpin's vacant desk, his arms crossed and in deep thought, with his right hand standing at attention beside him with his arms crossed behind his back.

Soon, the ding of the elevator sounded to announce the arrival of more visitors, the doors parting to reveal Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow and Shay, the latter of which seemed slightly displeased to be here at the moment.

"Qrow, what were you thinking?!" Winter almost yelled out loudly.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" Ironwood added.

"If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself." Qrow spat back with a blend of venom and sarcasm.

"Well, while I wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating like both you did certainly didn't help the situation." Glynda scolded Winter and Shay with an exasperated voice.

"He was drunk!" Winter argued.

"He's _always_ drunk!" Glynda, Haytham and Shay threw back immediately, before everybody turned their heads towards the man of the hour, chugging gulps of whiskey from a flask.

Sighing, Ozpin got down to business. "Qrow, Shay… why are you here?"

"Qrow, you've been out of contact for weeks! You can't just go dark like that in the field!" James exclaimed in a loud voice.

"I ain't one of your special operatives, Jimmy!" Qrow threw back.

"And you! You think you can just come back after what you pulled? You think you can wet your hands with the blood of other huntsmen and get away with it?!" Ironwood continued, turning his attention to the rogue.

"Those men and women weren't huntmen or huntresses! The scum who think they can get away with abuse, blackmail and corruption just of their jobs don't deserve to carry the mantle you fools represent!" Shay yelled back with equal harshness.

"I came back for the same reason Qrow did. We've been watching our enemy for a while now, and we're telling you, our enemy is already here."

"We know." Ironwood replied, much to Shay's outrage.

"Oh really, now?! Then why don't you all give me a name and I can shove a blade up their arse right now?! For fuck's sake, why haven't you done anything? This is why I left!" Shay spat violently, a vein pulsing on his forehead.

"We had reason to assume either of you had been compromised." Winter replied sternly.

"And we have reason to assume you don't need to be here! Seriously, who invited her?!" Qrow snarkily responded, pointing a finger at Winter.

With this, Haytham only sighed. "Schnee, we can discuss this later on the ship."

"B-but, sir…" Winter stammered, confused.

"Winter… leave." Haytham cut her off with a commanding tone.

"Yes sir." Reluctantly submitting, Winter gave a salute and took her leave, entering the elevator and pressing a button down.

Once Winter was gone from sight, all eyes turned to Qrow.

"Go on…" Ironwood goaded the dusty man.

"Your little 'infiltrator' ain't just another pawn." Qrow began, unscrewing the cap on his flask for another chug.

"What do you mean?" Haytham asked.

"They're responsible for Amber." Shay explained with a grim tone.

"What?" Glynda exclaimed in surprise.

Pulling his lips away from his flask, Qrow turned to address his colleagues. "Despite what the world thinks, we aren't just teachers or generals. We're the ones keeping the world safe from dangers nobody even knows about! That's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So you tell me James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet, or did you just not give a flying fuck?! Why not call Bayek's band of assassins? They'd do an infinitely better job!"

With Qrow's face in his, Ironwood's stoic expression didn't budge in the slightest. "Discreet wasn't working."

Placing his scroll on Ozpin's desk, the glass flickered to life as it scanned the miniscule device. With responding beeps, a holographic display was projected in front of the group. It was a reconstruction of Beacon Academy, with the Amity Coliseum hovering overhead, encircled by the ever-present Atlesian fleet.

"I'm here because this is what was necessary." Ironwood stated.

"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here. He made you a part of his inner circle and opened your eyes to the real threat that's in front of us." Qrow objected.

"And for that, I am grateful." Ironwood replied.

"Yeah? Well, you got a real funny way of showing it!" Qrow threw back.

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them, someone who would act! When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength." Ironwood declared proudly.

However, Shay only began to laugh bitterly, as well as Qrow. "Do you honestly think your little ships can scare them? _Her_? I've been out there, and I've _seen_ what she's made, and trust me when I say, she _is_ fear."

"And fear will bring the Grimm." Ozpin added.

"A guardian is a symbol of hope, but an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, the question on the back of everyone's minds; "If _this_ is the size of our defenses, what is it we're expecting to fight?" Ozpin continued.

Ironwood looked around the room, and it became clear from the stern expressions on their faces that they were on Ozpin's side.

Ironwood turned to Haytham, who only sighed and shook his head, making it clear that the general was alone in his ideals.

Sighing to himself in defeat, Ironwood moved to pick up his scroll, failing to notice the black queen symbol glitching on the screen.

"So, what would you suggest we do?" Ironwood asked his fellow headmaster.

Linking his fingers under his chin, the old man only stared ahead and spoke with a clear voice. "I suggest we find our guardian."

"And our 'infiltrators'?" Qrow asked.

"I count at least twelve exceptionally trained students that I can trust to find them." Ozpin answered, much to Ironwood's shock.

"You can't seriously expect the Assassins to simply turn them in?" Ironwood asked.

"I don't, and as much as I dread to say it, I don't think we will have a choice in the matter." Ozpin replied disconcolately.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

"You're sure?"

Cinder paced back and forth, her hands held behind her hip, as she listened to Jack.

"Positive. Bad hair, reeked of booze, and used a broadsword. I _know_ it was him." Jack replied irately.

Cinder frowned. Having to blend in with Assassins crawling through the school grounds was difficult enough, and now the very man who came that close to stopping them was here. What rotten luck.

"What do we do, then?" Emerald asked worriedly.

Cinder stopped and only turned to Emerald with a confident smirk. "Nothing. We stay the course. They have absolutely no clue who we are, so we have no reason to worry."

"Besides, the hard work is already done, thanks to our clever friend." Jack added, eyeing the 'W' insignia on Cinder's scroll, and perked up once a beep sounded from the device.

"Ah, speaking of which… it appears we have a new access point." Cinder said with a sinister grin. On the screen, a picture of Ironwood's scroll popped up, allowing Cinder to tap on the display and giving her access to the countless files stored in his data.

"Anywhere good?" Emerald asked.

"You could say that."

"Go to your rooms. We'll prepare everything for tomorrow." Jack said to the two teenagers, who both nodded and exited the dorm.

Swiping on her scroll, Cinder tapped the Coliseum icon and opened up the randomizer roulette, grinning in anticipation.

"You know, Qrow wasn't the only newcomer today." Jack piped up as he sharpened his knives, scraping the blades against each other.

"What do you mean?" Cinder asked with curiosity.

" _He_ 's back. Black and red coat, used a grenade launcher and dual blades. He's gonna be quite the problem." Jack said, noting Shay's arrival.

"He won't be." Cinder scoffed, only for Jack to slap both hands on Cinder's shoulders, glaring deep into her eyes.

Flinching from the sudden touch, Cinder looked up to meet his gaze, but was unafraid. "Remember that night at the tower? When Kenway nearly had you?" Jack sternly asked her.

"I had that under control." Cinder replied between clenched teeth, suppressing her annoyance.

"If you let that ego of yours inflate more, it'll pop. We take our time, lie in wait until the time is perfect." Jack told her.

"Then what's the plan?" Cinder asked her associate with a furrowed brow.

"We eliminate key targets, and then we can worry about them once it ends." Jack said, turning the roulette to match the opponents with each other.

Smiling, Cinder turned back to her scroll. "Then let's give the crowd a good fight."

* * *

 **Amity Coliseum, the next day…**

The crowd watched in anticipation and sheer ecstasy as the roulette began to spin above them, lining up the remaining teams with each other for the doubles rounds.

As the last of the fighters were paired, the crowd cheered wildly as the first fighters entered the arena.

"The randomization process is complete! Ladies and gentlemen, your doubles tournament line-up!" Rebecca enthusiastically announced over the microphone as the crowd's roars and applause resounded through the amphitheater.

On one side of the arena, Team RWBY and Team ACEE joined in, pouring out cheers and waiting in sheer anticipation, Team JNPR and ASHN doing the same from the other side.

Qrow and Shay sat at a bar at the festival grounds, their hands clutching shot glasses, but their eyes glued to the screen as they waited eagerly for the match to begin.

But in one corner of the terraces, Cinder sat comfortably with Jack seated next to her. Neither of them cheered, and only gave a slow clap as they both grinned, knowing exactly how this was going down.

All going according to plan…

* * *

 **Next Up: Emerald and Mercury VS Jacob and Evie!**

 **Happy 2018, guys! I've been waiting to put Shay in for a very long time and I hope you like him! From here on, I'm pretty excited for how this will turn out and I hope you all can bear with me! Anyways, I've been meaning to write another crossover fic for a while, and if y'all are curious about what I'm thinking about, then check out my profile and feel free to tell me what you want! So anyways, as always, leave a review, feel free to tell me anything and I'll see you… NEXT TIME! BYE-BYE!**

 **Guest: Point made. Connor don't seem the romantic type anyway.**

 **merendinoemiliano: Yeah, I guess so. I guess that means I gotta step up my game for the next one!**

 **CT7567Rules: Altaïr's sword turns into a crossbow, Ezio's turns into a heavy pistol, Connor's tomahawk turns into a flintlock, and he has a sword that turns into a bow. Edward uses his pistol swords.**

 **Nothing is True: Thank you very much! That seems like a pretty cool idea tbh.**

 **Guest: Sounds cool! Nothing's stopping you, man. Make an account and write that shit!**


	29. Living the Huntsman's Life

**Amity Coliseum, Above Beacon Academy (Doubles Round 1: Emerald** **Sustrai** **and Mercury Black VS Jacob Frye and Evie Frye)**

The crowd's cheers grew louder once the fighters had reached the center of the arena.

Each and every spectator rose up in a standing ovation, cheering on their favored fighters. Some sat calmly, snacking while they did so, while others stood up on their feet and raised their arms in excitement.

While the team rounds were very exciting, the doubles rounds kicked it up a notch by pitting pairs of the best fighters to battle it out, making it all the more intense.

As both pairs of fighters stood opposite one another, the roulette began to spin, deciding the biomes to be set for the match.

"Emerald and Mercury of Haven!" Rebecca announced to the crowd, encouraging a combined cheer from the crowd. Mercury stood with a laidback posture, his arms crossed with a confident grin. Emerald stood with a hunching stance, glaring at her opposition with a determined grin.

"Versus Jacob and Evie of Beacon!" Shaun continued, spurring an equally spirited reaction from the crowd. Jacob stood confidently, his left arm propped up against his hip while the other hand lazily grasped a kukri blade. Evie on the other hand, was calm, her eyes scanning her opponents analytically while leaning with both hands on her cane.

All around the two pairs of fighters, the roulettes stopped, but this time, four different biomes were revealed instead of the two from before. On one quarter of the arena, the scene of a ruined town was revealed, followed by rocky geyser fields, with hot water spewing from the ground.

Opposite the two biomes, a section of the floor was opened to reveal a grasslands biome, with a single tree sticking out of the tall, brown strands of grass. Beside it, a forest biome was revealed with numerous trees blocking out the sunlight with the overshadowing canopy.

In the center of the ring, Jacob leaned forward and locked eyes with Emerald. Gazing downwards toward her revealing top, he gave a sly grin as his eyes glinted sinisterly under his top hat. "Hey, love the outfit, girl." He said to her smoothly.

"I'll try not to get blood on it." Emerald snarkily replied, prompting Jacob's grin to grow in excitement.

"Hm… Hope you're ready to be disappointed, then." Evie threw back, her voice dripping with coldness and light amusement as she flipped her weapon in her hand, her fist clenching around the handle as she raised her hood.

"We won't be the ones bleeding, missy." Mercury hummed with a laid back and sassy tone of voice, crossing his arms with a pretentious grin on his face.

"Ooooh… I like these two already…" Jacob replied with a toothy sneer.

"Three!" Shaun began, prompting both teams to prepare themselves.

"Two!" Jacob and Evie looked to each other, silently agreeing on their battle plan as their minds began to devise tactics at a rapid pace.

"One!" On the other hand, both Emerald and Mercury stood calmly, seemingly passive. However, their eyes were just as cold and frighteningly filled with killer intent as the twin Assassins, staring down their opposition menacingly.

"Begin!" The announcer said, kicking off the match. Emerald and Mercury did nothing, and slowly walked backwards.

The two fighters kept walking until eventually, they obscured themselves in the tall grass of the savannah biome, their cold glares plastered on their faces.

Seeing this, Jacob nodded to his sister, who repeated his gesture and turned her cane into its rifle mode, inducing the cheers of the audience.

Evie then clenched the trigger, causing the weapon to spew bullets into the grass, mowing away at it until it was cut short and smoking. The stream of bullets cut through the grass, even hitting the energy field protecting the audience, causing some spectators to yell out in alarm when the bullets hit the shield right in front of them.

However, the twins gasped in surprise to see nobody among the grass, as if their opponents had disappeared entirely. Jacob raised his dual knives while Evie held up her rifle, ready to shoot at the first thing that moved.

Jacob gritted his teeth as he attempted to block out the crowd's noise, his ears scanning his surroundings for his opponents. Evie did the same, tapping her cane against the floor in an attempt to pick up any footsteps nearby.

"Above you!" Arno hurriedly called out from his seat, but barely audible enough for the twins to hear. Looking above them, Evie's eyes widened to see Mercury rapidly closing distance between them, his legs positioned for a powerful ground slam.

Thinking quickly, Evie raised her cane up, blocking Mercury's attack as his boots weighed down on her weapon. Pushing the silver-haired teen off of her, Evie quickly drew her blade from the cane and attacked back with a stab aimed at him, only for him to flip backwards and land gracefully on his feet.

Jacob attempted to tag him with his revolver, only for Mercury to break into a sprint, dodging gunfire from both twins, using his boots to block incoming bullets with a series of kicks.

Jacob gritted his teeth in annoyance, reaching into his belt to pull out a handful of throwing knives, flicking four in Mercury's direction, only for him to jump off of the ground, skillfully dodging each one in mid-air and kicking one back at the Assassin, causing him to raise his bracer arm to block it, his Semblance dampening the damage.

"He's good!" Aveline exclaimed, causing her friends to nod in agreement.

"Yeah, but where's the girl?" Her friend, Shao Jun asked, watching the fight closely, her eyes narrowing at the kicking combatant as her mind raced, drawing lines.

Mercury vaulted over Evie, who attempted to swing her sword into her, only for him to land behind her, flipping into the air to dodge a swing from Jacob, kicking into Evie's sword as he rose in the air.

Coming down, he slammed a kick into Jacob's back, only to be knocked back as Jacob raised his arm to hold him back before delivering a powerful punch into the gray-haired teen. Thinking quickly, he shot his grappling hook into him, the blade piercing his leg.

Reeling him in, he prepared to stab into Mercury with his kukri, but Mercury prepared his other leg, coiling it back, making contact with the blade while firing a shell from his boot, repelling both fighters off of each other.

Noticing Evie behind him with her rifle, he jumped up again as she began firing bullets, soaring towards the girl, landing a boot on her rifle as she raised it to block his kick, only for him to push off, attempting a flying kick on an approaching Jacob, hitting him in the face. But Jacob managed to grab his foot, holding him in place for a slash along the throat followed by a reeling punch.

Mercury quickly recovered, grabbing onto Evie's shoulder to stop his momentum before slamming a boot into the back of her trigger hand, pushing the gun's barrel against her brother's torso. But Evie reacted quickly, knocking an elbow into his side, slamming her cane grip into his cheek and landing a stab into his shoulder.

Jacob attempted a few shots on him with his pistol, only for Mercury to flip backwards, firing off wind dust rounds as he moved. Evie and Jacob easily blocked the shots with their respective weapons, but their eyes widened to see Mercury seemingly breakdancing on the floor, firing off round after round from his legs, forming a swirling cyclone of wind energy around him.

Firing a shot at the twins, the orbs of energy circling Mercury immediately followed, heading straight for the two Assassins. Gasping in shock, Jacob immediately ran in front of Evie, raising his arms to brace for impact.

As the shots hit Jacob, he could feel the force pounding down mercilessly onto him, his aura resisting the shots thanks to his Semblance. He felt no pain, but it didn't stop his boots from inching backwards from the force.

Dazed, both twins looked ahead to their opponent, only to see him gone. But then, Evie felt a rush of wind blow past her head, and jabbed her cane behind her, only to find Mercury's boot digging into her stomach before kneeing her in the chin, knocking her back.

As he moved to attack Jacob, Mercury spun his heel in the direction of his face, only for the gangster to raise an arm to stop his leg, moving in with his kukri and aiming for Mercury's chest.

Mercury quickly countered by attacking with his other leg, but Jacob intercepted the attack by slamming his fist into Mercury's leg, knocking it down and following up with a shot from his revolver, hitting Mercury in the head.

Staggering backwards, Mercury shook off his daze, seeing Jacob come in, his blade drawn back to slash against Mercury's chest. Gritting his teeth, he jumped up with a spin, striking the sole of his boot against the blade and kicking it away and striking Jacob up the chin, knocking him back and sending his hat flying.

Evie began to recover from Mercury's assault, shaking her head. But suddenly, a chain flew from the forested area, wrapping around Evie's waist. With a sharp yank, Evie found herself soaring towards the trees, but she didn't panic. Instead she smiled softly, knowing she had found Emerald's location.

Throwing down a smoke bomb, the small pellet exploded into a thick layer of smoke, obscuring Evie's form. As the smoke cleared, everybody looked in surprise to see Evie completely missing. Smiling in victory, Jacob turned his attention back to Mercury.

"You've got some guts, kicking off my hat like that." Jacob snarled at his opponent, slipping on a pair of brass knuckles while raising his hood over his head.

"Heh. You'll be losing a whole lot more than that once I'm done with you." Mercury replied, his boots readily positioned on the ground as he assumed a boxing stance.

Yelling loudly, both teens rushed each other, their eyes locked onto each other with intense killer intent in between them as they rapidly closed distance with each other.

Jacob threw a fist at Mercury while Mercury jumped up with a kick, both of them striking each other and clashing with one another. The sheer force of the impact was enough to send a powerful shockwave out, but both fighters stood in place, both only focused on defeating the other.

Jacob jabbed with his other arm, which Mercury blocked by raising his arm and counterattacking with a kick, but Jacob grasped the incoming leg and pulled Mercury in for a staggering head butt. Mercury could feel his skull shaking from the impact, jarring his senses momentarily and sending his eyes rolling back into his head as he coughed out droplets of blood.

Stunned, Mercury began to fall backwards, but Jacob still wasn't finished. The Assassin slammed a fist into his chest, knocking him down on the ground before bouncing him back up, leading Jacob to punch him again, shooting him towards the geyser fields.

Coming to his senses, Mercury looked up to see Jacob leaping toward him, locked in a familiar stance. His legs were curled to his stomach, his hood low over his eye line and his arm coiled back with his palm open. From his wrist, his hidden blade was deployed, ready to stab down on his neck.

Thinking quickly, Mercury kicked his legs up, meeting Jacob's blade as he felt the small sliver of steel punch through his aura and stab through his leg.

Jacob raised an eyebrow in confusion. The blade should have pierced soft flesh, but instead he felt no such thing. It felt solid, almost... metallic.

Smiling, Mercury fired off a shell from his boots as he kicked Jacob off of him, snapping the blade off from his gauntlet. As the gangster rose up again, he spat on the ground and rubbed his gauntlet-clad knuckle against his lips.

"Tired already? I'm barely sweating." Mercury haughtily taunted, despite feeling drained of an ample amount of his own energy.

"Heh. Y'know, I feel like we could've had a nice chat over a pint." Jacob chuckled bitterly, grinning as he felt his aura flicker against his skin.

"Weirdly enough, me too." Mercury admitted with a subtle tone of sincerity as he sneered through gritted teeth, his aura crackling in silvery flashes all over his body.

" _If I had met him when Dad was alive, just maybe... we could have even been friends._ "Mercury thought to himself, only to shake these feelings off when they sprinted towards each other, madly yelling with adrenaline and raw energy pumping through their veins in a final charge to the bitter end.

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Emerald cursed under her breath when she felt her chain lose all its weight and her opponent.

Moving through the canopy, she looked desperately to her left and right in an attempt to find the Assassin.

Once she found her, it would be easy to focus her Semblance on Evie, but she knew she couldn't make it obvious, or else the plan would fail.

Looking down from the trees and onto the battlefield, Emerald could watch as Mercury duked it out with Jacob, both of them whaling on each other mercilessly, with incredible aggression and with a hint of insanity.

Mercury hammered kicks onto Jacob relentlessly, but the Assassin made every attempt to block his hits, throwing rapid punches of his own, breaking past the silver-haired boy's defense sparingly as his legs managed to keep his fists at bay.

Mercury slammed his foot into the rocky ground, causing stone chunks to blow up from the ground. Mercury then kicked several rocks Jacob's way, only for him to raise his arms and rush Mercury.

Grabbing him by the collar, Jacob rammed his cranium against Mercury's, stunning him before kneeing him in the gut, knocking the air out of him as he gasped in pain.

But before he could finish him with a punch, Mercury propped his feet against the gangster's, kicking off with shotgun shells from his boots, pushing Jacob backwards into a nearby geyser.

"You cheating basta-AAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!" Jacob exclaimed as the burst of hot water and steam blasted against his body, throwing him into confusion as he staggered around blind.

Shaking his head, Jacob attempted to recover, his eyes fogged up from the burst of steam. But once they cleared, he could only watch as Mercury came in close with his leg raised. Throwing a punch in front of him, he gasped to find that all that he hit was thin air.

Smacking himself mentally for losing focus, Jacob sighed in defeat as he felt a metal boot smash against his skull.

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Emerald opened her eyes, feeling the mild pain throb from her brain. She cheered silently, knowing her Semblance had worked.

" _One down, one to go_." Emerald thought to herself.

Scanning through the treetops, Emerald searched for the remaining twin.

Suddenly, she felt a chill rise up her spine, feeling all of her senses screaming at high alert. Gasping, she swung one of her kusarigama blades behind her, only to feel Evie's hidden blade crashing down on her aura, pushing both of them down to the ground below.

Reaching the ground, Emerald quickly got up, firing her guns at the Assassin. " _How the hell did she get behind me?!_ " She thought to herself as she watched Evie dash to the side to dodge her assault, pulling out her own rifle as she came in closer.

Growling in frustration, Emerald flicked her firearms in her hands, causing their blades to flick out as she rushed Evie.

The Assassin did the same, drawing her sword from her cane, the blade telescoping and extending, clashing with Emerald's.

Raising her cane, Evie blocked Emerald's counterattack and used this opportunity to send her knee into Emerald's side, causing her to gasp for air.

Swinging her cane up, she flicked a switch on the blunt weapon, causing a sickle blade to extend from it, cutting up against Emerald's chin, leaving her open for a slash across the chest.

Panicking, Emerald swung her blades horizontally towards Evie, who blocked them with her weapons, and thinking quickly, Emerald focused once more, harnessing her aura into her brain.

Evie suddenly flinched to hear somebody approaching her from behind, and swung her sword behind her and hit Mercury, who had his leg extended toward her, but her eyes widened to see nobody an instant later, almost as if he was never there.

Suddenly, Evie felt Emerald's blades rake across her back, before she felt the bullets pepper into her body. Getting up, Evie fired her grappling hook at Emerald, who barely had time to react before Evie slammed the blunt end of her cane into her skull, causing the mint-haired girl to stagger in a daze.

" _What just happened there?" Was that my mind playing tricks on me?_ " Evie thought to herself as she landed more hits into Emerald, bludgeoning her over the head with her cane and alternating with the inner blade, chopping down her aura level rapidly.

" _D-dammit! I'm sorry, Cinder._ " Evie thought to herself, deciding to rely on her last resort. Instantly, she closed her eyes and summoned the last of her mental capacity for a final assault.

All of a sudden, Evie felt her senses enter overdrive, a blindingly bright flash covering her eyes and her ears ringing loudly with a high-pitched screech filling her brain, causing her to yell in agony and causing her to stagger across the ground, completely dazed and confused from the mental attack.

This allowed Emerald to strike quickly alongside Mercury, who had found the two of them fighting amongst the trees. Slashing a kusarigama blade against Evie's back, She looped the chain around the girl's neck, causing her to choke. Seeing Evie raise her rifle, she fired a shot of her gun at Evie's hand, causing her to drop her weapon in pain.

Kicking Evie in the back, Emerald launched her towards Mercury, who leapt up to deal the finishing blow, but Evie thought quickly and revealed her trump card.

Reaching for her half-cape, she raised it over her head, and much to Mercury's surprise, she was gone, vanished completely.

Landing on his feet, he cursed silently as his eyes scanned his surroundings for his opponent, backing away into the trees to hide himself from being out in the open.

Breathing heavily, he felt his heart beat like a drum as he grew more anxious. Every rustle of leaves caused him to gasp and every breeze of wind was enough to send chills up his spine.

Suddenly, Mercury could do nothing as he felt two hands suddenly, yet delicately grabbed him from behind. He tried to scream, to struggle, but it was too late to do anything as Evie slammed her hidden blade into his neck, draining him of the last of his aura before sinking back into the shadows, smashing his head against the darkness-obscured tree trunk.

Emerald frantically swung through the trees, desperately searching for the elder Frye, when she heard the buzzer sound above her. "We're down to one on one! Mercury Black is eliminated!" Rebecca announced over the loudspeaker.

"WHAT?!" Emerald yelled quite loudly in shock. She knew that Merc was an ass of a partner, but not even she was on his level of fighting skill. Seeing as how this girl was able to take him out just like that, that truly gave her a taste of what she was dealing with.

Emerald felt her heart pound out of its chest as her fear began to crawl all over her body, causing her to hyperventilate.

With this, she felt the dark dread fill her once she heard the ever-subtle noise of metal drawing as she panickedly unleashed a hail of dust from guns behind her, which Evie attempted to dodge and block with her weapons, to some avail.

However, Emerald recovered rather quickly, and focused once more, trying to cast the proper illusion with her Semblance to get away.

Evie moved in for the killing blow, but once Emerald completely hid herself from view, she saw her figure haze over before disappearing completely. Cursing under her breath, Evie activated her Eagle Vision to search for her opponent, but without success, she grabbed her cape ready to obscure herself once more to escape through the shadow she would cast.

However, she felt the barrage of bullets dig into her back before two powerful swings cut down on the last of her aura and sending her flying towards the center of the ring, unconscious.

"And with that, Emerald and Mercury are victorious!" Shaun announced over the mic, leading to a combination of cheers and jeers from the crowd below.

Emerald smiled quietly, laughing hysterically to herself before falling over and collapsing from exhaustion, completely and utterly drained from the intensity of the battle.

* * *

 **Terraces, Amity Coliseum**

Among the members of the audience, Teams ACEE and RWBY watched alongside Arno and Adé, watching their teammates' defeat.

Not too far away, Teams JNPR, CFVY, SSSN and ASHN were seated. All of them stood seated with wide eyes at the outcome of the match.

"Huh, who would've thought Jacob would go first?" Henry asked his team quizzically.

"Heh. Yeah. Kid's got guts, but at least he had the strength to back it up. Gotta hand it to him, he fought well." Coco added, her eyes locking on curiously to Jacob's unconscious body down below.

"Those other two… their style was rather… brutal, no?" the larger Assassin known as Nikolai Orelov inquired, referring to Mercury and Emerald, noting their aggressive and skillful approach.

"Yeah, it almost looks familiar…" Shao Jun noted, racking her brain for a semblance of familiarity.

"Still, I hope they're okay…" Velvet squeaked quietly, worried for their state of injury as her bunny ears drooped.

"They fought valiantly. And honorably." The muscular giant named Yatsuhashi spoke up, vocalizing his admiration for Jacob and Evie's effort.

"C'mon! Let's see how they're doing!" Aveline called out to her friends, causing everybody to get up to check up on them.

But as they left, Cinder and Jack stayed seated, discussing the outcome of the match.

"That was far too close." Jack growled, noting how close Emerald was to losing.

"But they succeeded, didn't they?" Cinder replied in exasperation, rolling her eyes.

"Tell me something, will you?" Jack asked curiously, looking into Cinder's uncovered eye with a serious atmosphere between them.

"What is it?" She asked curiously. It wasn't every day that Jack wanted to know more about her, considering his lack of interest for things unrelated to murder and torture.

"What did you see in them?" He asked, avoiding eye contact.

Cinder's expression didn't shift from its stoic indifference, but she found it to be an intriguing question all the same. All she really wanted was power, and these two were pawns in her master plan to achieve that. But then again, there were reasons…

"I don't know, honestly. One could say that… I saw myself in them." Cinder admitted, but with a cold voice that clearly emphasized her lack of regard for the matter.

Jack sat there quietly, his brow raised in confusion. " _Heh. Seems that even the heartless can feel._ " Jack thought to himself as he rose from his seat and strolled out of the terraces.

* * *

 **Gazebo Café, Outside Festival Grounds, Later that evening…**

Weiss sat comfortably in her chair, fiddling with her teacup filled with sweet and aromatic coffee. Opposite her sat her sister, seated matronly with her posture upright and straight as she sipped from her cup.

Weiss was still a bit hurt from Winter's cold remarks back at the courtyard, but it was times like these that her ice cold façade melted away to reveal the kind and caring elder sister she remembered growing up with in Atlas.

Winter had also chosen an ideal spot for them to chat. It was a marble gazebo surrounded by a lush and floral garden, decorated with beautiful flowers of all kinds with dainty butterflies of all hues fluttering around them.

The interior of the café was also very beautiful. The space had no windows, instead opting for marble pillars upholding the domed ceiling, resembling a pantheon of sorts. Above the pillars, lush green awnings hung overhead, with vibrant vines stretching down to touch the sun's rays.

In the center of the structure, a beautiful fountain stood, consisting of a goblet of sorts erecting from the pool of water, in which its clear and sparkling contents flowed peacefully down into. The two sisters sat at a fancy table, which stood on legs that met at the center, curving outwards to hold it in place. Between them sat two teacups as well as a plate containing two strawberries and a croissant.

"Y-you're… leaving?" Weiss asked, almost in dismay as she heard her sister say it aloud.

"Yes. I was merely needed to direct an escort for additional units into Vale." Winter confirmed to her sister, setting down her cup of coffee from her lips and carefully placed it in its saucer, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Our last shipment was lost to an ambush… I believe you experienced an encounter with its cargo, actually." Winter added, causing Weiss to remember the weeks leading up to the festival, in which they had foiled the White Fang's plans to incite a Grimm invasion. She remembered going up against the massive Paladin suits, one of which involved eight of them to take down.

"It's fortunate that the suits you ran into were merely prototypes. Otherwise you and your friends would not have fared so well. Thank goodness…" Winter drabbled on, her mind dreading the loss her precious sister to the machines she had a hand in creating as a military specialist.

However, she looked ahead at her sister, who had a downtrodden expression on her face. She then realized what she'd said. If her sister had trouble defeating a prototype, then she must have felt her confidence shattered upon hearing it was barely even a full challenge.

Succumbing to her big sister instincts, she gently placed a palm over Weiss's, feeling herself smile upon seeing her sister's expression grow warmer. "Weiss… you've done… well here, on your own. You should be proud of yourself. I admittedly was, myself."

Weiss smiled gratefully, feeling her heart open up to Winter more. "To be honest, it was quite amusing seeing Father's face the moment you left for Beacon!" Winter added, causing Weiss to giggle lightly, remembering her father's red face and almost childish tantrum when she left. It was an image he would deny frivolously, yet an image Weiss would never forget in a million years.

"I can't wait to show him all I've learned!" Weiss declared eagerly with a smile to match, her arms crossed in confidence.

"Oh? And what _do_ you think you've learned?" Winter inquired with a snarky grin and a raised brow.

"What do you mean? I've become better and better with my glyphs. I've even started time dilation!" Weiss retorted, her face riddled with confusion. She wasn't wrong from her own knowledge. Time dilation was difficult stuff, almost up there with…

"And what of your summoning?" Winter asked her, her hands pressed up against her chin as her elbows were propped against the tabletop, pushing her chest against the rim as her face became more firm and serious.

" _And there's the kicker…_ " Weiss thought to herself. In all her years, she had tried, but after countless failed attempts, she eventually gave up on trying, despite Winter's excessive pushing.

"I… y-you know I can't…" Weiss whined, turning away from Winter in embarrassment.

"Don't be ridiculous. Every Schnee has the ability to summon. We have for generations." Winter noted with a hint of pride, recalling every brave hero that fought for the Schnee bloodline before Atlas came into being, including her grandfather, founder of the SDC himself.

"I've _tried_! It's just… It's the one thing I'm having trouble with!" Weiss argued back, throwing her arms out to emphasize her point.

Winter sighed, raising her voice once more. "We Schnees are unique. Unlike many, our Semblance is hereditary, but that doesn't mean it will come easy."

Raising her arm, Winter held out her palm, summoning a small glyph to hover and spin on top of her hand. "Your Semblance is like a muscle. The more you practice with it, the stronger it will become. But if you only focus on one aspect of it, if you fail to test the limits of what is possible…"

Winter then flicked her arm upwards, enveloping the area in a bright flash of light, causing Weiss to flinch backwards, raising her arm over her eyes to shield them from the light. Opening her eyes, she saw a Beowolf standing next to Winter, but completely white and glowing with a pale blue energy. This was one of Winter's summoned, a copy of one of countless Grimm that died to her blade.

"…then you'll never truly grow."

Staring at the beast in awe, she could only imagine the potential within herself as the Grimm bent down, allowing Winter to pet it and stroke its fur under its neck, causing the wolf to growl softly in contentment.

* * *

 **Team RWBY's Dorm, Beacon Academy**

"YOU'LL NEVER BEAT US, GRANDPAS!" Ruby yelled out at the top of her lungs, holding her weapon with both hands and clinging on for dear life.

"Heh, when was the last time you _really_ stood a chance against me?!" Qrow responded, readying himself for a special attack.

"Bet they've never even had a taste of a true pro!" Shay added, his eyes narrowing in for the killing blow.

"We can do it Ruby! NOW!" Yang yelled out, activating her ultimate attack, speeding towards Qrow with a fiery yell.

"Tsk…" Shay snickered under his breath, activating his secret technique. He leapt in front of Yang and made his move. Much to Yang's dismay, she dealt no damage, as she felt the force of the attack barrel back down on Ruby and herself.

With this, both of their character's health bars dropped down to zero, causing Ruby and Yang to stare in defeat as the screen darkened.

"FINISH HIM!" The announcer said in a deep and menacing voice, blood-red letters on the screen emphasizing his words.

With an evil grin, Shay nodded to Qrow, who entered a combination of buttons on his controller, causing his character to move towards the sisters'.

"NOOOOOOO!" Both of they yelled out in horror, watching Qrow's character transform into a massive King Taijitu, devouring both of the defeated combatants with a bloody crunch that tore a hole through Ruby's innocent heart.

"Soaring Ninja and Blood Hawk win! Total Annihilation! Fatality!" The announcer declared loudly, causing Qrow and Shay to smirk in victory, while Ruby was on the verge of tears, curling up into a ball while whimpering like a dying dog and Yang was about ready to burst a vein, the controller in her hands smoking from the heat she was giving off.

"By the way, don't ever call us grandpas. You'll be a part of the crowd soon enough." Qrow joked, jabbing a whimpering Ruby in the side with his finger, causing her to squeak quietly in response.

"Rematch. **Now**." Yang growled with a deathly tone, her now scarlet eyes glaring from behind her hair, which was beginning to light ablaze in small embers.

"Sure, if you insist." Shay sarcastically added, picking up his controller again and picking his character.

"Now, where was I again?" Qrow asked his nieces, to which Ruby jumped up to answer him, completely breaking out of her traumatized state earlier.

"You were telling us about your last mission!" Ruby chirped excitedly as Shay took on Yang in the fighting game.

Taking a deep breath, Qrow began his story. "Right… here goes. I come across a small village in the swamps west of Mistral. Right off the bat, I could tell somethin' wasn't right."

"What were you doing there?" Ruby gasped curiously, causing Shay to chuckle as he evaded one of Yang's special attacks.

"I needed info. Tired of fighting Grimm along the way, I decided to visit the local inn. The place was crawling with lowlifes and thugs, even a few huntsmen I could only assume had been hired by less than reputable people for less than respectable jobs. I walked in… and that's when it happened."

"What happened?" Yang asked in shock.

Qrow's face grew dark and serious, almost as if bearing news of the apocalypse itself. "I was defeated… by the mere sight… of the innkeeper's skirt length!"

With this, Shay delivered the final blow to Yang, causing the announcer's voice to blare from the TV. "Blood Hawk wins! Total Annihilation! Fatality!"

"Bam. Best two out of three." Shay said cooly, dropping the controller like a mic.

"YOU ARE THE WORST!" Yang yelled at Qrow, causing him, Shay and Ruby to laugh uncontrollably.

"So… Uncle Qrow, did you get in trouble with Ozpin?" Ruby asked, sitting herself onto the bed.

"Yeah, me and Oz go way back. We're cool."

"Cool for an old guy!" Yang joked, only to meet Shay's hidden blade pointed at her neck.

"Not funny, kiddo." The rogue huntsman said to the blonde, causing her to raise her arms in surrender.

"By the way, what're you doing here at Beacon? I thought Dad said you'd be on a mission for like… ever" Ruby asked him.

"Well, a professional huntsman like your drunk of an uncle here is supposed to get results as soon as possible. I should know, I've worked with him for years." Shay said he watched Qrow play another round against his elder niece.

"Heh, yeah. We're pretty much professionals ourselves…" Ruby said, leaning back onto the bed.

"Oh really?" Qrow replied sarcastically with an indifferent face.

"Psh… yeah! Watch the news sometime! We totally saved Vale when you were away!" Yang responded, keeping her eyes on the screen.

"Funny, 'cause I heard Vale suffered a Grimm attack after you _almost_ managed to stop a train." Qrow threw back snarkily as he obliterated Yang's character in the game with his ultimate move.

"And they don't give out medals for 'almost'." Qrow continued, poking Yang in the cheek, causing her eye to twitch in annoyance.

"They do and they're called SILVER!" Ruby blurted out, causing Shay to laugh at her antics.

"Well, we took down Roman Torchwick! He's locked up on Ironwood's ship, and crime's been down ever since. That's basically a bounty mission!" Yang bragged, remembering their lucky victory after the Breach, remembering everybody showing up to fight back the Grimm.

"Sure, you may be acting like huntresses, but you're not thinking like one. Did you really think four girls and their friends could end all crime in the kingdom?" Shay asked them, raising his eyebrow and remembering a time when he thought similarly.

"Well, I did until you said that…" Ruby admitted, tapping her fingers together awkwardly.

Sighing, Qrow spoke up. "Crime hasn't dropped since Roman's arrest. It's stopped. Completely. No White Fang or Blighter activity anywhere in Vale."

This cast an atmosphere of silence amongst the group, as the four of them sat with an ominous air between them.

"You cut off the head of the King Taijitu, but now the second head's calling the shots. That's what Ironwood can't get through that thick metal skull of his…" Qrow ranted, his eyes narrowing at the thought of the general and his ignorance.

"You guys know the general?" Ruby asked, looking just as confused as Yang. They knew Qrow worked high up, but not to this extent.

"Hey! I know everyone to some extent! Remember, you're talking to a member of the coolest team to ever graduate Beacon!" Qrow said proudly, plucking a photo from his shirt pocket.

In the photo was Qrow and three others. On the far left was a young girl wearing a snow-white cloak, a hood covering part of her face. Her eyes were large and colored a bright silver. Her skirt was black and short black hair extended from under her hood, barely reaching her collarbone. This was Summer Rose, Ruby's mother and Yang's stepmother, at least until she... left…

Leaning against a tree next to Summer was a young man with dark tanned skin and short blonde hair. He wore a brown vest with a pauldron covering his right shoulder. This was Yang and Ruby's father, Taiyang. As a teacher at Signal and a single father of two, he had little time to spend at home, but Yang understood. After all, she had been taking care of Ruby in his place.

Between Tai and a younger-looking Qrow stood another person, a young woman dressed in black and red armor and a black skirt, her arms covered by scale gauntlets and her hair was long, black and spiky. Most notable however, was her face. With large red eyes, a rounded face and beautiful features, it was almost a spitting image of herself…

Noticing Yang's eyes widening over a particular member, Qrow sighed and subtly moved his thumb over her face, blocking it from Yang's view. "Team STRQ. That's where I met your parents. We were _pretty_ well-known back in the day."

"Yeah, I can personally vouch for that as an understatement." Shay added, remembering Qrow's team and how much attention they attracted from students and teachers alike, half of which were from Qrow's hilarious shenanigans in class.

"Yeah, for bad fashion sense!" Ruby joked, muffling a giggle under her arm.

"Hey, we looked great! And I got a number of inappropriate stories to back that up…" Qrow said, wiggling his eyebrows at Ruby, causing her to wince in disgust.

"Ich, gross!"

"But... I'm gonna save those for when you're older. Wouldn't want your imaginations runnin' wild." He said, slipping the photo back into his pocket.

"Anyways, I'm getting too old to be hangin' out with a buncha kids. You're gonna cramp my style!" Qrow said, getting up to walk out the door, but before he did, he stopped himself, turning back towards his nieces.

"Look, just remember that you've still got a long way to go. Don't think for a second that graduating means you're done. Every day out there is worth a week in this place." Qrow said before walking off.

Shay got up, but turned towards his friend's nieces, quizzical expressions covering their faces. Sighing, he spoke up. "You two, just remember… you're gonna go far. But only if you keep learning, If you never stop moving forward. It was nice meeting you." Shay said with a gentle smile before shutting the door behind him to catch up with Qrow.

* * *

 **Gazebo Café, Outside Festival Grounds**

Weiss stood in the center of the gazebo, her sword pointed at a spinning glyph on the ground. Her stance was elegant, yet her face was ridden with stress and frustration.

Beside her, Winter stood, analyzing her posture. "Excellent form! Now, think to your fallen foes, the ones that force you to push yourself past who you were, and become who you are now. Think of them, and watch as they come to your side."

Weiss' frustration only grew as she concentrated further, the glyph spinning faster, yet nothing happened as the glyph's energy began to flicker like a candle.

"I can't!" Weiss complained, which quickly earned her a smack on the head from her elder sister.

"Stop doubting yourself!" She sternly ordered Weiss.

"I'm trying!" Weiss yelled back in frustration.

"If this is what you call 'trying', then you have no hope of winning the tournament, let alone succeeding as a huntress! Why don't you just move back home? I'm sure Father would give you a nice job as a receptionist!" Weiss coldly rebutted.

"I don't need his charity!" Weiss replied, pouting with both hands crossed under her chest.

"But you do need his money, don't you?" Winter asked Weiss with a clever grin, causing Weiss to gasp.

"W-what? H-how'd you know about that?" She asked frantically.

"Lucky guess. I may have found myself in a similar situation when I joined the military. So what have you done this time?" Winter asked her sister.

"Well, that's the thing! I'm really not sure. I went to pay for lunch the other day, but my card didn't work." Weiss said, recalling the incident at the noodle shop after their first match.

"How embarrassing!" Winter responded in mock surprise.

"I know! Why would he just cut me off like that?" Weiss asked her sister.

"Perhaps so you'd stop ignoring him and call home."

Growling in frustration, Weiss pointed Myrtenaster at the ground once more, summoning her aura to form a spinning glyph into the ground. Sensing her sister's tension, Winter placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Emotions can grant you strength, but you must never let them overpower you. The way I see it, you have two choices in front of you; you can either call home, beg for his money back and explain once more why you want to study at Beacon over Atlas… or you can continue to explore Remnant. Learning more about the world and its secrets, and honestly, more about yourself." With Winter's words, Weiss finally drew a long breath, relaxing as the glyph dissipated.

Turning to her sister with both arms on hers, Winter looked at her in the eyes. "It's time for me to go now."

With this, she gave Weiss a warm hug, which the younger girl happily returned as both siblings remained in a loving embrace.

"It was good to see you again, Winter." Weiss said to Winter, happy to have had the chance to chat with her again.

"Until next time, sister." Winter said, returning Weiss's feelings. The Schnee family was far from a happy one, but the sisters still loved each other, and even felt that they were the only true family each of them had.

It was rare moments like this in which both women could relax and shoulder each other's problems, like any true family would.

* * *

 **Courtyard, Beacon Academy, Later that night…**

Weiss sat on a bench as she saw Winter's ship ascend into the sky, the engine roaring as the aircraft flew off into the direction of the city across the bay.

Weiss waved off the ship, hoping that her sister could see her from that distance.

But just then, she turned her head to notice somebody sitting atop one of the massive arcs of the courtyard.

Running up to it, Weiss used a glyph to help herself jump up atop the structure, crossing eyes with Ezio.

"Lovely night, don't you think?" Ezio asked the heiress with a smile.

"Yes…" Weiss answered, taking a seat next to him.

"So… your sister?" Ezio asked again.

"Yes. She came for her mission but made time to visit me." Weiss answered.

Ezio grinned as he looked above him at the beautiful night sky. Bright, sparkling stars dotted a black canvas decorated with splashes of violet and indigo, with a light blue light illuminating the shattered moon above.

Looking beside him to tell Weiss to look up, he already saw her gazing upwards in wonder, her sky blue eyes sparkling beautifully in wonder, causing him to smile contently.

"Ezio?" Weiss suddenly asked, breaking from her trance.

"Yes, what is it?" He responded.

"Do yo-" She began, only to be interrupted by something vibrating in her pocket.

Pulling out her scroll, she saw that her father was calling her. Seeing this, Ezio sighed. "Do you need some privacy, or…"

However, his words were cut short when Weiss placed her palm on his with a light blush gracing her cheeks, her scroll revealing that she had hung up on her father.

"No. _We_ could use some privacy." Weiss hummed contentedly, almost melodically in her voice as she lowered her head on Ezio's shoulder, not letting go of his hand.

"Just… let it happen. It's a rather beautiful night, after all." Weiss continued, her voice calm and soothing to his ears, causing himself to turn red as he turned back up to look at the starlit sky.

With that, Weiss could relax happily, knowing she had found comfort outside her family at last. " _Maybe this could become something more…_ " she contently thought to herself as she closed her eyes into a peaceful slumber, feeling the warmth of Ezio's arms wrapped around her shoulder as they sat together under the midnight sky.

 **Up next: Never Miss a Beat!**

 **Hey guys! Sorry for the long delay! I've started writing a new story (** **plz** **check it out on my profile), had to complete a monster load of schoolwork, but I'm very happy to be able to finish this just in time for this story's anniversary! On this day, a year ago, I created this story, but never in my life would I have comprehended that I would get 75,000 views and over 200 follows and** **faves** **! Thank you all so much for enjoying my story and staying with me to the end! Love you all! Anyways, let's talk business. I've been really confused about Blake's pairings, but I'd like to put that whole debate to rest. I'll be putting up a poll on my profile, so cast your vote if you want to tell me your personal opinion on the matter! Anyways, like always, hit the shit** **outta** **that review button,** **fave** **or follow the story to keep updated, happy Valentine's Day and I'll see you next time for a new year! BYE-BYE!**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **treyalexander63917: It's on the poll now. I'll try to do it eventually!**

 **Omni warrior: True, but here's the thing: how do they know that Emerald and Mercury are suspicious purely based on the illusions? Also, Emerald's Semblance, I feel completely takes over all senses, so I'd imagine Eagle Vision wouldn't work. Besides, even if "red" would mark them, keep in mind that characters that did not seem** **suspicious in the games would remain blue.**

 **Nothing is true: Sounds cool! I might look into that!**

 **Guest: Sure thing, but above all, I see Connor as a compassionate type, the kind of person to put others over himself. With this in mind, if he sees Sun taking an interest in Blake, he knows that he's the kind of person that can help her be more open and he would not let his personal feelings get in the way.**

 **The Hidden One: Like I explained earlier, there would be no way Jacob or Evie would expose them without concrete evidence that they are working with Salem. With their illusions, it does not prove anything, and they couldn't figure it out easily unless it is outwardly stated to them. Oh yeah, that would be badass but I think using an airship to break someone out of house arrest in their dorm would be a bit overly dramatic.**

 **merendinoemiliano** **: Thanks for the support!**

 **SW1103:** **Y'know** **, never actually gave it much thought. I think I'll do it in a character short.**

 **Guest: Yeah, but I imagine** **Bayek's** **actually well past his prime by now, but yeah, that sounds cool.**

 **CT7567Rules: Jacob uses dual kukri blades that turn into revolvers as well as a pair of brass knuckles with dust nodes at the ends. Arno has his foil, a pistol and his guillotine gun (an axe that fires mortar shells, later upgraded to fire rockets).** **Adé** **carries a machete that turns into a two-handed blunderbuss. Evie uses a cane-sword that turns into an assault rifle.**

 **Guest: Been there, done that.**

 **Guest: Hmm… Sounds interesting.**

 **Cslalchemist** **: Thanks! No, they don't know, not yet** **at least…**

 **Sam hill: Cool. Never watched Pirates of the Caribbean (except the last one)** **tho** **.**

 **Guest:** **Eehhhh** **... don't think Achilles will make an appearance this early.**

 **Guest: Yeah, me too.**

 **Guest: Your patience has been rewarded, friend.**

 **Odin beard: Oh, it will alright. Be patient.**

 **splithaven** **: Lmao I literally screamed "DESMOOOND!" when she said it in Syndicate!**


	30. Beat It

**Amity Coliseum, Above Beacon Academy (Doubles Round 2: Russel Thrush and Sky Lark VS Penny Polendina and Ciel Soliel)**

The Amity Coliseum was busy as always as another match was underway. Crowds of spectators were on the edge of their seats, cheering at the top of their lungs.

Penny Polendina beamed with her ever-present smile, guiding her blades through the air with her hands, blocking her opponent's strikes. Russel had ran up to Penny, attempting to cut through her defense, but Penny's swords did not budge, causing him to grunt in annoyance.

But Russel was suddenly knocked back onto his back, causing him to drop his swords. Penny's teammate Ciel lowered her foot after the kick, and simply stood back so that Penny could leap in to finish it.

Russel's eyes widened to see Penny rushing towards him with her swords circling her body, trailing neon green arcs of light with every swing. Looking at the display above the arena, he saw that his and Sky's auras were already thinning down into the red, just several hits away from defeat.

Panicking, the mohawk-haired teen scrambled behind a boulder just before Penny's swords could hit him. Three blades sped through the air and drove into the boulder with an audible _chunk_ , causing Sky to peer over another boulder in surprise.

Smiling a bit wider, Penny raised her arm and sent her remaining swords in her new target's direction. Three more swords were plunged into the boulder, firmly stuck into the rock.

Both members of Team CRDL looked at each other questioningly in fear, wondering what was going to happen next.

Penny smirked happily and turned to her partner for approval, only for the dark-skinned girl to flash a stern expression at Penny, tapping her finger against her watch. They were killing time.

Drooping slightly, Penny sighed and smiled once again as she raised both arms.

With that, the swords followed her movements, carrying both boulders into the air, leaving Russel clinging onto the boulder in fear, while Sky only stared from below in shock.

Russel could only whimper in fear as Penny slammed her hands down, causing both boulders to crash back down on the ground and crumble into hundreds of pieces against the two enemy fighters, depleting the last of their aura.

As the buzzer rang out, Shaun announced the victory from the booth above. "Russel Thrush and Sky Lark: Knocked unconscious and unable to continue fighting! They retire!"

"Hang on, was that a reference of some sort?" Rebecca asked Shaun with her elbows resting atop the desk.

Ignoring his partner, Shaun continued as Penny bowed in respect to her felled opponents. "Victory goes to Penny and Ciel of Atlas!"

"Thank you for a wonderful time!" Penny said, smiling brightly as the crowd cheered around her, while Ciel simply stands by, checking her watch frequently with a bored expression on her face.

Meanwhile in the terraces, Ruby watched the pair's victory and cheered as loud as she could, causing those surrounding her to stare at her or do the same. Once the two Atlas students turned to leave, Ruby decided to go and congratulate her friend.

"Oop! 'Scuse me! Sorry!" Ruby stammered awkwardly as she shuffled out of her seat row, accidentally stepping on spectators' things on the way.

* * *

 **Entrance D, Amity Coliseum**

Penny and Ciel walked together out the entrance alongside various spectators, a few of them noticing who she was and congratulating them for their victory, to which Penny happily thanked them with a giggle.

As they continued walking, they walked up to the man waiting for them leaning against the wall. Leonardo smiled happily as he ran to meet Penny, with the android doing the same, eager to embrace her second father figure.

"Penny! Ciel!" He called out to them as he reached out his arms to Penny.

Penny laughed as she leapt into his arms, hugging him tight. "Penny, you were amazing out there!" The inventor said to her.

"Thank you, Mr. Da Vinci!" Penny replied.

"Greetings, sir." Ciel addressed Leonardo with polite bow, to which the inventor smiled.

"Good to see you too, Ciel." Leonardo kindly said in return to the dark-skinned girl before turning his attention to both girls.

"Right! Now, why don't we grab some food to eat? I'm sure you both must be pretty drained from that fight!" Leonardo asked the two students, causing their smiles to widen.

"That would be sensational! Thank you, Mr. Da Vinci!" Penny chirped as they followed Leonardo out the entrance.

The three of them were just about to grab lunch, or as Ciel preferred to call it, "energy refreshment" when a new voice rang out from behind them.

"Penny!" Ruby called out, leading Penny to turn and grin upon seeing her friend.

"Ruby!" She called back happily, running toward Ruby to hug her, or rather… tackle Ruby to the floor, causing her to grunt from the impact.

"Whyyyy…" Ruby groaned in pain as she laid on the ground with Penny smothering her in her powerful arms.

"Look who it is! _Buongiorno, rosa_!" Leonardo greeted the newcomer as he remembered her from the evening of the "investigation". He waved his hand to her, to which Ruby weakly waved back, crushed under Penny's weight.

Penny then instantly rose up and began introducing her new teammate to the red-hooded girl. "Ruby, this is my teammate!"

"Ciel Soliel." The girl introduced herself with a bow. Ciel wore a beret to match the blue of her eyes along with a similarly colored skirt with a gold trim. She also wore a white shirt with gold buttons, with short navy blue hair parted to the left in a fringe, revealing a golden mark on her forehead.

Smiling, Ruby waved her hand to introduce herself. "Hi! I'm R-"

However, Ciel quickly interrupted. "Ruby Rose, 15 years old, hails from Patch, leader of Team RWBY, status: questionable… , harbors an obsession for weap-"

"Anyways!" Ruby quickly cut Ciel off, much to Leonardo's amusement.

"Penny, you two were incredible out there! How do you keep control of all those swords? It's so cool!" Ruby gushed in amazement at Penny, causing her to giggle.

"Penny?" Ciel then stepped in, raising her watch.

"I believe it is best to move on to our next objective. The lines will pile up at the stalls if we are not punctual." Ciel informed her, tapping her watch for emphasis.

Turning her gaze towards Ruby, she turned again to Leonardo for approval, to which he gave a light nod.

Turning to Ciel, she raised a finger in question. "Could we just have a minute to talk?"

Looking down at her watch, Ciel said nothing, but then smiled and took a step back with her watch raised, tracking the seconds.

Immediately as this happened, Penny leaned in closer to Ruby in an attempt to pick up her words. "So… she your friend… or…."

Upon hearing her friend's assumption, Penny quickly replied with a stammer, "W-well… not exactly. She's like Blake! But if Blake was _ordered_ to spend time with you." Penny explained to the girl, causing her face to clear of confusion.

"Oh. Then, Weiss."

"Precisely!" Penny chirped happily in response.

But then Ruby asked her another question as she leaned in close to Penny's ear. "Does she know about… y'know…"

" _Beep boop bop, does not compute?_ " Ruby asked, doing a robot dance to emphasize her point.

"Oh, no! General Ironwood doesn't really want anyone to know!" Penny abruptly replied.

"There _was_ an incident with a magnet, but I was able to play it off!" Penny added, laughing at the memory of her wearing a sunhat the entire day while she was out at the festival with Ciel, at least until she was able to get back to Leonardo to remove the magnet from her hair.

The both of them laughed at the thought of the incident, clenching their stomachs and laughing together, when Penny tapped Ruby on the shoulder to add another piece of news.

"Ruby? There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about…" Penny stopped as she made a gesture with her finger, telling Ruby to lean in closer, which her friend did with curiosity.

Leaning in closely, Penny cupped a hand to her mouth as she whispered to Ruby. "I want to stay in Beacon!"

Ruby's first reaction to this news was understandably, joy. Her smile began to grow upon hearing that her best friend wanted to study with her, and her heart leapt at the thought of all the possible things they could do together.

Ruby was needlessly overjoyed at the possibilities, but her smile gradually ebbed away once a single glaring issue came to mind.

"P-Penny, they'll never let you do that…" Ruby said to her friend worriedly.

However, it was then that Leonardo walked in and answered, "Yes, that's true. However, Penny and I have discussed this and we've got a plan ready!"

Just that moment, Ciel jumped in with her watch held up. "It's been precisely one minute, ma'am." She said monotonously, her finger tapping on her watch.

"Ah! In that case, why don't we get going, Penny?" Leonardo added, patting Penny on the shoulder with a warm smile, causing her to giggle cheerfully.

"Right! I'll talk to you more soon, Ruby! See you!" Penny bid her friend farewell as she moved to catch up with Leonardo and Ciel out the Coliseum's entrance, waving one last time to Ruby before exiting the area.

Ruby watched as her friend walked down the sunlit hallway, imagining all the fun times they could have together in Beacon. If Penny's plan worked, then she would be the happiest girl in Vale. At the thought of it, Ruby just couldn't help but smile cheerfully as she thought of the future.

"Ruby!"

Ruby turned at the sound of a voice calling her name, and turned to see none other than Arno Dorian walking down the hallway with his hand raised, calling for her in an attempt to get her attention.

"Arno!" Ruby responded to the Assassin, raising her own hand in the air above the crowd to reveal her location to Arno.

Arno turned his head, scanning through the crowd until his eyes fell upon Ruby, causing him to break into a light jog to reach her in the crowd.

When he caught up to Ruby, he awkwardly broke his run and hunched over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily, as if he was running all day.

Ruby's brow quirked and she asked him, "H-hey, what's up?"

Arno looked as if he were about to speak, until the jingle of the PA system rang throughout the coliseum, signaling the voices of one of the two announcers.

"Our next match will begin in less than 5 minutes, people! So get your fat arses outta the hot dog stands and get to your seats to catch the next doubles round!" The particularly passive-aggressive voice of Shaun Hastings yelled over the mic.

Hearing this, Ruby's eyes suddenly lit up. She knew exactly who was next, and she couldn't be more excited. "Oh my gosh, right! It's time for-"

* * *

 **Arena, Amity Coliseum (Doubles Round 3: Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long VS Flynt Coal and Neon Katt)**

"Well, now it's our turn!" Yang chirped cheerfully, stretching her arms in preparation for the match as she and Weiss stood at the center of the vast arena, awaiting their opponent's arrival.

Naturally, Weiss merely let out a tired sigh. "Just try to keep proper form. I'd hate to hear you lost us the match because you tripped over the weight of your b-"

"RIGHT!" Yang quickly interrupted, causing Weiss to yelp in surprise.

"So, Atlas, huh? You're the expert! Educate me!" Yang said with a snarky grin, flexing her biceps.

Weiss put a finger to her chin, racking her brilliant mind for everything she could recall from her time in Atlas. "Well, considering that their academy, government and military are all combined into one, we can expect strict, militant fighters with carefully rehearsed strategies!"

But just then, the two teens felt a gust of wind brush past them, blowing their hair into the air.

They then looked ahead of them to see two other teens around the same age as them. The first one to the left was Flynt Coal, a boy with dark skin, wearing a dark vest over a white dress shirt, an undone tie hung over his neck.. In his hand, he held what looked like a trumpet and he wore sunglasses and a fedora with a blue trim.

The other one to the right was Neon Katt. Her maroon hair was tied up in four pigtails, two large ones on top and two small ones below them. She wore a light blue tank top that exposed her bra, a pink mini-skirt and two bracers on each arm, twirling a pair of nunchaku sticks. She wore roller skates on her feet, and a swishing feline tail marked her as a faunus.

Needless to say, "strict militant fighter" would be a rather inaccurate description for their opponents at the moment.

"Or… whatever _they_ are." Weiss added,

"Hey!"

Weiss then suddenly perked up at the foreign voice addressing her, turning her gaze to the boy.

"You're Weiss Schnee, right? The heiress?" He asked, pointing with his trumpet, smiling.

"I am!" Weiss answered with a polite curtsy. It shouldn't come as a surprise that someone recognized her, especially considering these kids were from Atlas, her own home kingdom.

"I take it you're pretty good with Dust, then?" He asked.

" _He's probing, isn't he?_ " Weiss thought to herself. This guy was veering in a weird direction. It wasn't exactly natural for people to ask for a name, then their taste in weaponry.

"I try my best." Weiss replied casually, slightly confused at where this was going.

"Yeah! My dad was good too! Owned a little Dust shop of his own! …Until your father's company ran him out of business." The boy finished, venom dripping from his bitter voice at the last bit.

" _Oh. Of course…_ " Weiss' smile sank twenty leagues under with her confidence. Of course this was the case. If she had a nickel for everyone of Remnant for everyone who sucked up to her just for her surname, she'd have enough to buy her own house. But if she had one for everyone who probably wanted her dead for the same reason, HELL, she'd be able to buy a house the size of Schnee Manor all for herself!

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that…" Weiss said with guilt in her words and expression, trying to sound as sincere as possible, but the boy wasn't having any of it.

" _Suuure_ you are…" He replied sarcastically, clearly too bitter to listen, which didn't rub Yang the right way. She didn't deserve hate for what her father's actions, and she wasn't about to let this prick get started with her friend.

"Hey! Why don't y-"

"Hey! Why don't you!" Yang was about to start berating the boy, but turned her head to his teammate, who interrupted her by repeating her words in a mocking tone.

"That's what _you_ sound like!" She continued, her face bearing a mischievous expression as she waved a finger in Yang's direction, causing her to scratch her head in confusion.

"Hey, where'd you get your hair extensions?" She continued to ask in that annoying stereotypical "party girl" voice.

"This is just my normal hair…" Yang answered uncomfortably, stroking her golden hair.

"Oooh… Really?" The faunus girl chirped, clearly rather impressed.

"Y-yeah? Is that a prob-"

But before Yang could continue, she was interrupted again. "You should try rollerblading sometime! It's _super_ fun! It'll probably take you a while though, since you're, y'know…'top heavy'!"

Yang perked up at the last part, glancing down at her chest, then back up at the girl. " _Excuse me_?!" Yang quite nearly yelled out loud angrily, her hair beginning to waft off smoke.

"Oh boy, here we go." Ruby muttered to herself in her seat, watching them from the terraces.

"By the way, you guys are from Beacon, right? You talk with those ACEE guys?" Neon asked her, causing Weiss and Yang to look to each other in confusion.

"Mind introducing me to them sometime? The blond one looks kinda hot if you ask me!" Neon chirped.

With this, Yang only grinned evilly and gave her reply. "Alright, listen. Edward? He's _my_ bitch. Besides, you'll have to get in line! He won't be looking at you anytime soon, not when you're as flat as a valley!"

With that, Neon stopped to stare down at her own chest, then back up at Yang, finding herself smiling as well.

"Ooooh! I like you…" Neon purred, readying a battle pose as the roulette spun around them.

As they stopped, the floor opened up to reveal four new biomes, erecting the ruined town, the geyser field, the desert and the volcanic field.

As soon as this was done, the voices over the loudspeakers sounded once more, ready to kick off the match. "Alright! Looks like the field's set up! Let's get this party started!" Rebecca announced loudly over the mic.

"3!" Everyone got in ready positions, knees locked and bodies leaned forward to the ground.

"2!" As everyone stood ready, Yang and Weiss were confused to see Flynt standing upright, holding his trumpet above his chest.

"1!" Seeing Neon's wicked sneer, Yang and Weiss had only one thing to think at the same time.

" _Don't tell me…_ "

"BEGIN!"

With that, their fears were confirmed as Flynt blew into the instrument, blaring powerful sound waves at the two girls, almost quite literally blowing them off their feet as they struggled to keep their feet on the ground,

" _OH MY GOD HIS TRUMPET'S A FUCKING WEAPON_ ", was the only thing both Yang and Weiss could think at the same time as they were forced to raise their arms over their faces to block out the force of the sound waves and the deafening noise of the trumpet.

But just then, Neon sped forward on her rollerblades, using Flynt's sound waves to propel her across the ground towards Yang.

Weiss managed to cast a glyph under her feet to keep her ground, but unfortunately, Yang was knocked off the ground once Neon managed to smack her across the face using her nunchaku, sending her tumbling across the gorund.

Flynt watched Neon deal with Yang, then turned his attention to his _real_ competition. Staring down the heiress, Flynt unleashed another devastating blast of noise from his trumpet, prompting Weiss to summon more glyphs underneath her, anchoring her feet to the ground as she pushed against the tremendous force.

However, Flynt only smirked as he stopped playing, and as the sound waves disappeared, Weiss' momentum suddenly kicked in, pushing her too far ahead as she stumbled toward Flynt, who used this opportunity to strike her in the back as she stumbled past him, sending her sprawling across the volcanic rock of the lava biome.

Meanwhile, Yang wasn't doing as well with Neon. The girl was lightning fast on her roller blades, and she would dodge every single one of Yang's shots at her.

Running through the city ruins, Yang raised her fists and unleashed a volley of flares from her gauntlets, desperately attempting to hit the cat girl.

However, Neon sped across the floor, leaving a bright rainbow trail behind her as she leapt and dove, evading each shot skillfully.

What annoyed Yang the most, in fact was her mocking grin. Neon didn't appear to take this seriously and seemed to be toying with her. This made Yang grit her teeth. _Nobody_ toyed with her.

She fired off another shot at Neon, causing the girl to leap up on an old building, flipping to evade the flare, then skidding along an old construction beam at high speed, making it impossible for Yang to land a shot.

"Never miss a beat! Never miss a beat!" Neon sang as she skated along, unclipping her nunchaku from her belt as she burst toward Yang at full speed.

Yang could do little as Neon slammed on end of her nunchaku against her face, before turning completely to hit her again and again. The faunus girl was moving far too quickly for her to track, leaving Yang confused and dazed as she was being beaten from all directions.

Neon dashed back and forth, landing one whack from her nunchaku after another, leaving Yang stunned. Looking up at her, Yang could then see Neon staring back with a smirk. Both hands on her weapon, she bent the sticks, causing them to snap and glow a bright blue like a glowstick.

Twirling her weapon in her hand, Neon moved once more toward the blonde, with the latter standing in position ready to fight back. Yang moved forward with an enraged cry, drawing back her fist to sock Neon in the face, but was immediately stopped once Neon sped past her, striking her leg with her nunchaku.

Yang could suddenly feel a great weight on her leg, holding her down. Looking down, she saw that her leg was encased in a block of ice, courtesy of the dust in Neon's weapon.

Looking back at her opponent who was laughing mockingly, Yang saw Neon skating around her, teasing her with her annoying giggle.

"Look! Now you're bottom heavy too!" Neon crowed, smacking her own bottom as a way to mock her enemy.

With this, Yang angrily stomped her foot on the ground, shattering the ice encasing her leg. But Neon didn't let her breathe as she brushed past Yang again, striking her arm with a nunchaku, freezing it completely.

Growling under her breath, Yang fired off another shot with her free hand at Neon, only for her to easily evade the shot, sliding under a low arc and spinning on her heel to turn back toward her enemy.

Locking on to her target, Neon rushed forward at blinding speed, leaping off of the ground, striking her legs against Yang's body and kicking off, sending her flying backwards into a wall, blowing a crater into the structure.

Beaten and battered, Yang raised a hand, noting the subtle heatwave wafting off of it. " _Damn. Not enough. I need to take a bit more._ "

But that moment, Yang saw Neon skating to her, mischievously grinning. "You should _cool off_!"

Wait… what?

"Get it?"

" _She did NOT-"_

"Because you're angry."

" _Oh, it's fucking_ _ **on**_ _, bitch._ " Yang thought to herself furiously, smashing her frozen arm against the wall behind her, shattering the ice and the wall itself.

Nobody outpuns Yang Xiao Long.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Weiss faced down her opponent with her rapier in front of her, and Flynt did the same with his trumpet at his lips.

Casting three glyphs behind her, Weiss flicked the hammer on her rapier, releasing dust and causing the glyphs to glow even brighter with energy.

Weiss then thrust her rapier at Flynt with a battle cry, releasing shards of ice to bombard the trumpeter. However, Flynt only looked down to his feet and smirked.

Flipping himself backwards, Flynt inhaled and unleashed a blast of sound from his trumpet just as a lava geyser burst from the ground beneath him, blowing the molten rock in front of him and instantly melting the ice coming his way.

Weiss's eyes widened as she leapt back away from the magma spraying towards her. After hastily dodging a few stray droplets, she looked up to see Flynt straightening his fedora.

"Too bad all that money can't buy you skill." Flynt snarkily remarks, taunting Weiss.

Scowling in response, Weiss rose to her feet with an annoyed frown on her face. With that, Flynt brought his trumpet to his lips once more, and Weiss acted immediately, rolling Myrtenaster's barrel to a new blend of dust.

Flynt blew into his trumpet, and Weiss released a blast of wind dust, causing both gusts to clash with one another in equilibrium, neither blast of wind overpowering the other.

Seeing that Flynt was trying to blow harder into his instrument in an attempt to overpower her, Weiss used his distracted state to her advantage. Raising a free hand, she flicked a finger, summoning a number of glyphs to surround her opponent in a circle.

Timing her escape accurately, Weiss broke off from her clash with Flynt and sped off to the glyphs encircling the both of them, rebounding off of each glyph at rapid speed to attack Flynt from all angles.

For an added edge, Weiss charged up Myrtenaster to fire ice shards from glyphs as she bounced off each one. Attacked from all sides, Flynt could do little to nothing in response, feeling his aura deplete sharply with every strike.

Narrowing his gaze, Flynt gritted his teeth as he recovered from the assault, standing upright and blaring another song from his trumpet at full volume, drowning out the rising cheers of the crowd.

"The crowd is going wild! What could Flynt be up to?" Rebecca announced, exciting the audience even further.

Raising an eyebrow at the change of position, Weiss sped off, making ready to land another blow, passing in front of Flynt.

But it was then that Flynt revealed his trump card. Flynt's image then appeared to flash before duplicating itself again, and again, and again until a set of four Flynts was visible, each wearing a different color highlight.

Each Flynt blew into their trumpet, each gust appearing to glow a certain color and blending together to form a massive torrent of sound.

Managing to catch Weiss in the path of the wind, the four Flynts blew the heiress off her feet and sent her tumbling across the ground, disoriented and stunned.

"Oh, what do we have here, folks?" Rebecca announced over the mic.

"Looks like Flynt's showing off his Semblance! Quite the showstopper, too!" Shaun continued over the loudspeaker, adjusting his glasses with his finger.

"Ladies and gentlemen; Flynt Coal's "Killer Quartet"!" Shaun announced dramatically, peaking the volume of the audience's cheers as each Flynt tipped his hat to the audience.

Gazing up at the aura counter on the giant display screen overhead, Flynt could see that he and Neon were at an advantage. Weiss's aura was below the half mark, and while he was rather low on aura, he could see that it should be enough to take down Weiss, and Neon's aura had barely depleted. They had this in the bag.

Recalling his duplicates, Flynt advanced towards a weakened Weiss, his clones being pulled back into his body as he moved.

Weiss could barely muster the strength to stand after the massive blast she took head-on, so much that her ears were still ringing intensely. Weakly reaching for her rapier, Weiss's face fell once she saw Flynt walk up to her, kicking her sword aside and raising his trumpet, when he turned his head to Neon and Yang's struggle.

By now, Yang was panting heavily as she ran towards her teasing opponent, her eyes turning red from her anger.

Neon took notice of this and chirped, "Ooh! Flashy eyes! Y'know, you're actually kinda pretty when you're angry-"

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" Yang yelled at the cat girl, completely enraged at her antics. Yang then fired her gauntlets behind her, thrusting her forward towards Neon.

Throwing a rapid barrage of punches at the colorful girl, Yang swung her fists with every ounce of her rage, only for Neon to causally dodge each hit, but even worse, she didn't stop talking.

"I didn't say you should go on a diet, I'm saying you _really need_ to go on a diet! How do you expect to impress a man if you crush him under your weight?"

"THAT'S IT! GET OVER HERE, YOU LITTLE-"

"You're fat."

Chuckling lightly at the legitimately humorous scuffle between the two, Flynt smirked and raised his trumpet in Yang's direction, summoning his quartet to strike at once.

However, Weiss was beginning to come to her senses and noticed lava bubbling just in front of Flynt's feet. Suddenly, she remembered him pulling the same tactic on her a few minutes before during their fight.

She looked at Yang, then up at the audience, keeping her eyes on a certain boy in the audience avidly cheering from his seat.

All at once, she remembered the words spoken to her at the beginning of the year, his voice echoing in her mind from that evening on the first day of class.

" _Don't be mad because you're not the leader, but do everything you can to help your team succeed as one._ "

At that instant, Weiss acted. Lunging forward with the last of her strength, she caught Flynt by the legs, pushing both of them in the path of the lava geyser, the searing hot magma splashing over them at full force, scorching away at their aura as Weiss could feel herself losing her grip on her consciousness.

* * *

 **Terraces, Amity Coliseum**

"WEISS!" Everyone yelled out for their friend, seeing her aura deplete to the bottom mark at 0.

Team RWBY and their friends were shocked to see their friend put herself on the line to finish her enemy off, something the Ice Queen from the beginning of the year would not even think of doing.

* * *

 **Arena, Amity Coliseum**

"What?" Yang then turned her attention to the blast, hearing Shaun's voice over the loudspeaker.

"Ouch! Looks like we got a double knockout on our hands! Weiss Schnee retires with a completely depleted aura level!"

But then, the smoke from the geyser cleared, revealing a figure standing. Dazed, but standing. "Look! What do we have here?" Rebecca announced.

The smoke then parted to reveal Flynt standing upright. He stumbled in his steps and appeared to be coming to his senses, but he was still equipped to fight.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Flynt Coal remains standing!" Rebecca announced, hyping the crowd's cheers to maximum volume, the voices of the audience echoing throughout the arena.

Flynt then shook off his daze and advanced toward the remaining opposition, Neon skating around him.

"You did it, Flynt! Don't worry about her, she's easy! _But kinda annoying!_ " She sang, referring to Yang.

However, Yang's stature began to change. Her eye started to twitch reflexively and her fists clenched together, causing her fingers to crack audibly and smoke to seep out of her palms. What's more, the ground beneath her feet began to rumble violently and what appeared to be a heat haze was surrounding her body.

Pretty soon, the announcers took notice as well. "What's this? Looks like Yang's _angry_!" Rebecca announced, riling up the hype in the air.

"Oh shit, here we go." Edward muttered to himself, with his friends silently agreeing as they could only await the inevitable.

"But Becks, that's her secret." Shaun continued as Yang unleashed a battle cry that tore the heavens with its rage.

" **RRRRAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!-"**

"She's _always_ angry."

Yang slammed a boot on the ground, cracking it beneath her as her eyes flashed a bloody red and her hair began to glow alight, resembling burning flames as it flared in the wind.

Bursting forward with a sprint, Yang moved toward Flynt with death in her eyes and flames trailing behind her.

"Go! Neon, go!" Flynt called to his partner, cueing her to rush toward the brawler on her skates as Flynt boosted her with his sound waves.

But as she neared Yang, Neon's faunus instincts kicked in, urging her to run away from the grave threat in front of her, far different from the girl that she played with by the beginning of the round.

Her eyes were filled with mad rage and her fists were quite literally smoking. Yang snapped her eyes toward Neon, letting her see exactly what she was dealing with. Yang's stare was scorching, making Neon swear she could burn holes through her skull if she kept eye contact.

All of a sudden, her body reacted on impulse, immediately dodging to the side as Neon attempted to retreat, then opting to try to flank the girl.

Yang then saw Flynt bring his trumpet to his lips once more, attempting to blast her away with his music. Growling, Yang jumped into the air, boosting herself with a shot from her gauntlets.

Noticing this, Flynt summoned his quartet behind him, all four of them blaring sound waves at their airborne target in an attempt to push her back.

Yang could feel her ears ringing, but her rage made her think little of it. As she drew closer, she yelled at the top of her lungs, and clapped her hands together right in front of Flynt's trumpet.

Suddenly, Flynt's sound waves were completely overpowered as he was hit with a blast of his own medicine, sending him flying backwards and knocking him out for good as the buzzer sounded his loss.

"Ooh! Sour note for Flynt! It's down to the last two!"

Rising to her feet, Yang turned her attention to her remaining opponent. Neon skated around the battlefield, but she didn't have the same control from the beginning of the round.

Her moves were unsteady as she struggled to weave her way through the geyser fields, the rocky and uneven terrain leaving her unstable as opposed to the smooth surfaces over at the ruins.

"Never miss a beat!"

"Never miss a beat!"

"Never miss a-"

One little wedge was all it took. Once her wheels tripped on that one wedge in the rocks, Neon's heart stopped for a horrifying second, because it was then that she knew she'd lost the match.

"-beat?" She managed to squeak, before tumbling down the rockface and colliding with an erupting geyser, shooting the cat girl into the air, shrieking in terror.

Neon then hit the ground like a brick, seeing stars as she came to her senses. But all she saw above her was Yang Xiao Long, literally flaming by the hair and her eyes colored a bright red and staring down at her with burning rage.

Slamming a boot down on Neon's stomach, the faunus girl grunted as she had the air knocked out of her. But then, Yang spoke with a deadly tone.

"Here's a question for you. Will I hit you with my right or my left?"

"P-please, I'm sorry! Just hit me with your right, please!" Neon squeaked, completely frightened, only for her terror to grow once she saw Yang's expression twist into a deeper glare, shaking her head to say no.

"Y-your left?" She meekly asked, sweating buckets, but the blonde girl still said nothing, shaking her head slowly.

"B-both?!"

With this, Yang's face slowly twisted into a sadistic grin as she brought both hands up to her chest, cracking her knuckles and leaving Neon to scream in terror as her painful judgment was dealt.

Everyone had their eyes glued to the scene below them, then looked up to the aura counter to see Neon's dropping sharply as Yang had her way with her.

Some parents covered their children's eyes, some spectators looked on frozen in shock, while a large amount continued to cheer Yang on.

Some time later, the buzzer sounded once Neon's aura was depleted, calling off the match and causing Yang to stop and calm down as her eyes returned to its normal lilac color.

"And with that brutal finish, Neon Katt is eliminated! Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee are victorious!" Rebecca announced, causing the crowd to rise in unison and cheer loudly.

Panting heavily from the match, needless to say, Yang was incredibly exhausted. But she suddenly stood upright, remembering her defeated teammate.

"Weiss!"

Running back to the volcanic field, Yang could see Weiss's blackened body limp on the ground, coughing up soot and ash.

"Weiss, are you okay?" She asked worriedly, her "big sister" instincts kicking in.

Weiss coughed again, her voice weak and raspy from the ash. "I may not be singing for a while…"

Yang let out a sigh of relief once she knew her teammate was alright, and smiled warmly. "Y'know, I'm not sure that was proper form." Yang joked.

"Oh, ha-ha-" Weiss sarcastically replied with a smile for her own before erupting into another coughing fit.

"Also… " Weiss muttered weakly, causing Yang to turn her head toward her teammate.

"You went for the JoJo reference? _Really_?" Weiss asked, before coughing once more.

At this, Yang laughed heartily, patting Weiss on the shoulder. "Hey, I gotta commit to the meme, don't I?

Suddenly, they heard a loud gasp. "We lost?! Team FNKI _lost_?!" Neon cried, her face drained of the rainbow of color that once decorated her.

"That was…"

"That was…"

"AMAZING!" Neon finished, shining brighter than ever with sparkles in her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, you guys were super crazy _awesome_! We should _definitely_ party together sometime! Right, Flynt?" Neon chirped, turning to her partner, who was recovering from their match.

The trumpeter turned his gaze to Weiss, who stared back. "That was a ballsy move you pulled there, Schnee."

"I dig it." Flynt said with a smile, expressing his newfound respect for the heiress. Weiss nodded to him in response, but soon began to cough some more.

"C'mon Weiss, let's get you fixed up." Yang said, reaching her hand out to Weiss.

* * *

 **Entrance G, Amity Coliseum**

Yang and Weiss exited the infarmary with Weiss resting on Yang's shoulder with her arm around her neck as she limped out of the arena while her aura restored her wounds.

They were told that Weiss would be fine as long as her aura healed her, and this caused Yang to relax with relief.

The pair of them began to walk through the entrance where a crowd of spectators paced back and forth, in and out of the terraces.

"Yang! Weiss!" They heard a voice call out to them. Turning to the source, they saw Ruby and Blake alongside Teams JNPR, ACEE and several others.

They saw Sun's team, Teams JAAE, CFVY and ASHN standing close by, all of them waiting for the two of them to arrive.

Ruby then ran up to them with her super-speed, wrapping her arms around Yang with a loving hug as she squealed congratulations to the both of them, causing Yang to laugh and ruffle up her hair.

"So, what now?" Yang asked her friends.

"I think this calls for a celebration! Who's with me!" Jacob suggested, raising his fist in the air.

"YEAH!" Everyone voiced their agreement with spirit, with the group then walking off to catch an airship to ground level.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Cinder and her team were in their dorm, thinking over the events of the day while going about their business.

Emerald fiddled with her scroll, Mercury was doing push-ups, Jack was playing target practice with his knives, and Cinder was scrolling through Ironwood's files which she gained access to.

Skimming through the data, one particular file caught her eye. Opening it up, Cinder's eyes widened slightly, before her lips curled into a smile.

Sensing the change in mood, Jack turned to his colleague. "What is it? Find something interesting?"

"Oh, nothing. We'll just be making a few minor… alterations to the plan." Cinder hummed.

"What does that mean?" Mercury asked, looking up from a push-up.

"It means this will be even easier than we thought." Cinder answered with a flaring glint in her eye as she gazed over the file she opened.

It was a blueprint for a certain android Ironwood kept hidden. The title spelled out an acronym:

P.E.N.N.Y.

* * *

 **Headmaster's Office, Beacon Cross-Communications Tower**

Ozpin turned away from the display on his monitor, sipping from his favorite mug as he pondered the events of the past few days.

As he stared at the Coliseum hovering above, eclipsing the setting sun, his face was indifferent, but his mind was connecting dots and trying to unravel the truth behind his "infiltrators".

These past few days have been rather uneventful, but Ozpin knew better than to let down his guard and be careless. That mistake had come to bite him in the back more than once.

Suddenly, his desk began to release a beeping sound, signaling the arrival of a visitor. Buzzing them in, Ozpin turned his chair to cross eyes with none other than Shay Cormac.

Raising an eyebrow, Ozpin sipped from his mug, then addressed the man. "Didn't expect you to visit. Where is Qrow, by any chance?"

Shay sighed exasperatedly in reply. "I wanted to talk. Besides, Qrow's passed out at the bar."

Ozpin let out a muffled chuckle in response, but his face returned to its serious demeanor, leading Shay to address him again.

"He's making you look stupid, you know that?" He told the old man.

"His heart is in the right place. He wants the best, but he's just… misguided." Ozpin muttered in reply, gazing through his office window at the numerous airships circling the Coliseum.

" _He wouldn't be the first…_ " Shay thought to himself, but kept his lips sealed.

"So, what are you going to do? Chosen your "guardian" yet?" Shay asked him, folding his arms as he stared at the headmaster.

"Maidens choose themselves, Shay. I simply believe I've found the right candidate." Ozpin replied, a determined look in his eyes.

"Ever since I've met her, I've had a feeling she'd be the one." Ozpin said, recalling his memories throughout the school year.

"Since when does a man like you get social with women of that age?" Shay asked him, a hint of jest in his voice.

"Well, if you run one of the four most prestigious huntsman academies in the world, you get to know plenty of potential souls." Ozpin replied.

"Who do you have in mind?" Shay asked, probing the old headmaster.

"She's strong, intelligent, caring, but most importantly, she's ready."

"And how can you be sure that she won't let you down? Or should I ask, that you won't let her down?" Shay asked him seriously, both his hands pressed down on Ozpin's desk.

But with this, Ozpin only smiled.

"Well, they don't call her "The Invincible Girl" for nothing."

* * *

 **Up next: What's your favorite fairy tale?...**

 **Hello again! Okay, now I've gotten the harder part of this story out of the way, and now we get to the more interesting part of RWBY! From the start, I was always super excited to do Volume 4 and up, and I hope you enjoyed this little chapter!**

 **Anyways, real talk, guys. It's been 4 months since I updated, and that doesn't sit well with me as much as I'm sure it was with you guys. Honestly, I've been feeling rather… unmotivated to write as of late. I'm sure this was either because I was being lazy or because I've had a bunch else on my hands. On the bright side, this should wrap up the boring part and I can get on to the interesting bit.**

 **Also, I know I've mentioned this before, but I'm opening up ideas to get new crossovers started. Please give me your opinions over on my profile once you've looked. Keep in mind that I will not abandon anything I've already started on, so don't worry about me leaving this story behind!**

 **Speaking of which, I'm all open if any of you want to take one of the stories listed, but please PM me before doing so!**

 **Thanks for holding out, and I'm looking forward to get back in the saddle! Tell me what you think, what you wanna see and follow this story to get notified! Thanks to all of you, and I'll see you next time! BYE-BYE!**

 **Omni warrior: Yeah, things are gonna be stepping up the ante from here on. Also, yes I got the game, and I'm done with the story.**

 **merendinoemiliano: Thanks! Yeah, I still don't know if Pyrrha will live, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.**

 **CT765Rules: Yes, she did save him. Also, I don't know for sure yet, but really, I felt that the other Assassins weren't really necessary for the story. But so far as I know, Aveline has a sugarcane machete that turns into a pistol, Jun has her jian blade, but it doesn't have a ranged mode because she uses her wrist needles and rope dart for that. Maybe I'll make it so the blade turns into a rope dart. Henry's kukri is very similar to Jacob's, as it turns into a revolver as well. Nikolai carries a weapon similar to Shay's, a sabre that turns into a two-handed rifle. I also think I already mentioned the train back in chapter 21.**

 **Neo-Devil: Yes. Yes he would.**

 **Nothing is true: Very true. It should be noted that if he is as old as I plan him to be, he should be near or has already outlived 100 years of life. But then again, Isu armor. I also have an idea for his semblance, and yes he is overpowered, but I feel that having a handicap would give him a reason for not going full hax mode during the Fall of Beacon. But then again, I'll think about this pretty soon. Personally, I thought Hepzefa's Sword looked cool, y'know being gold and on fire. But idk man**

 **The Hidden One: True. I have plans for Vol. 4, and I have a little side story in mind for Evie and Jacob. Guess we'll have to wait and see.**

 **TauntSup3rs3t24: Yep, he does. But for the moment, I won't delve very deep into how exactly.**

 **thepowerfulkira: Haytham does. Shay's doing his own thing.**

 **gajeel-of-iron: Thanks! Nice to know you enjoyed my story!**

 **Guest: Yeah it does. Bayek started it around the Great War and founded the modern Brotherhood in Remnant then.**

 **Guest: If I were to answer that, I wouldn't call Shay a legitimate Templar per se, but I'd call him a Rogue. He doesn't work for either side, and serves his own brand of justice. He's a vigilante.**

 **Strider344: Yeah, I'm honestly kinda surprised how far I've gotten with this thing. To be honest, I haven't really thought out Arno's or Adé's story yet. I imagined instead of being adopted by the de la Serres like in Unity, he was taken in by Coco's family, y'know, with the French connection. But to be honest, I haven't delved enough into that, as much as Adéwalé. For him, I just added him in because I couldn't think of another main assassin. If Origins came out earlier, he most likely would've been replaced by Bayek. Jack and Jacob don't exactly have a connection, because this Jack is far more different in origin than him in Syndicate.**


	31. Fratricide

_**Fratricide (noun): The act of killing one's brother or sister.**_

* * *

 **Beacon Cross-Communications Tower, Vale**

For reasons unknown to her, Pyrrha was summoned to the headmaster's office. However, she hardly felt afraid, and entered the elevator with confidence in her resolve and skills.

The door closed behind her, leaving her to stand alone in the small space, waiting as she was carried up to Ozpin's office on the top floor.

Standing by herself in the small space, Pyrrha took the time to think back on the past few days, about her victories in the tournament and all the time she spent with her team. All her friends were doing amazingly in the tournament, and she couldn't help but feel a deep admiration for them all.

She witnessed Team RWBY and Team ACEE's fights and watched them emerge victorious even against some of the most formidable combatants she'd seen from outside Beacon. But most of all, she was proud of her own team for making it this far.

She looked back to the beginning of the year and remembered the bumbling ball of untapped potential that was Jaune Arc when she first met him, and now he was one of her closest friends and she would be lying to say she didn't feel anything beyond that for him.

Ever since Jaune had agreed to train with her and the mysterious and admittedly skilled Altaïr, he was able to hold his own in combat training, and in the Coliseum, he was a force to be reckoned with, not for his brawn, but his sharp wit and remarkable talent as a tactical strategist, directing Team JNPR's movements as a cohesive unit, earning him newfound respect among his peers and Pyrrha herself.

She couldn't think of why Professor Ozpin would ask for her specifically, but she was going to greet the situation to the best of her abilities so that she could continue to fight to achieve victory in the finals.

As the elevator released a dinging sound and the doors opened, Pyrrha took a deep breath and stepped out with confidence.

* * *

 **Headmaster's Office, Beacon Cross-Communications Tower**

Ozpin turned to his new visitor, a warm smile on his aged face as Pyrrha stepped out of the elevator. Her face showed anxiety, but it was overshadowed by the girl's confident air.

Shay was also in the office, watching closely as he leaned back on one of the pillars. His gaze crept up and down her form, but in an analytical and tactical way, much like how a fighter assessed an opponent's strengths, weaknesses and styles in combat.

Pyrrha stepped into the office and was immediately awed by the spacious room. Above her were spinning cogs working the clock tower, and yet they emitted little sound, allowing her to listen to Ozpin's voice calling to her.

Ozpin's desk was simplistic, yet she could tell that it was not a mere piece of furniture. Its surface was glass and it shimmered in the evening sunlight peering through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind Ozpin, offering a beautiful view of the entire Beacon campus.

"Ah, Ms. Nikos. It is a pleasure to be able to speak with you." Ozpin greeted her, gesturing for her to take a seat.

Pyrrha politely replied as she took a seat in front of his desk, opposite him. "Thank you, Professor."

"Well, it comes as no surprise that your team has chosen you to move on to the final round of the tournament. Your skills have been exemplary and I'm sure they must be extremely proud of you." Ozpin noted, expressing his happiness for Pyrrha.

Smiling with a slight blush from embarrasment, Pyrrha replied. "Thank you Professor, but I would not have made it this far without my teammates."

"Really? Don't you think it's actually the other way around?" Shay muttered from his corner of the room, but loudly enough for Pyrrha's smile to fade as she turned towards him.

"I-I'm sorry, but I believe we haven't been introduced." Pyrrha said to him in a distrusting tone, clearly not receiving a positive impression of him.

"Name's Shay, Invincible Girl. Shay Cormac." He replied, glancing at her from his side of the room, miffing Pyrrha a bit by using her commonly given moniker.

Sensing tension building in the air, Ozpin decided to interject. "Shay is a… former associate of mine. Now if we may settle down, how about we get down to business and address your original reason for being here?"

"Oh, right! I'm sorry." Pyrrha immediately responded, sitting back into her chair and facing Ozpin.

The air was quiet as Pyrrha waited for Ozpin to say something. And a moment later, he asked her a single question.

"What is your favorite fairy tale?"

Quirking a brow at the odd question, Pyrrha was a bit more than confused to say the least.

"I-I beg your pardon?..."

"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them." Ozpin elaborated rather bluntly.

Pressing a finger to her lips, Pyrrha began recollecting memories from her childhood, trying to scavenge a few familiar titles her mother would share to her.

As a few pieces came to mind, Pyrrha gave her answer. "Well… there's the tale of the Two Brothers… the Shallow Sea… the Girl in the Tower…"

"How about the legend of the Eagle and the Snake? A personal favorite of mine." Shay added from the corner, causing Ozpin to send a look toward Shay that sent him back into his previous position.

"What about… the story of the Seasons?" Ozpin offered, to which Pyrrha glowered with a smile.

"Oh! Of course!"

Pyrrha vividly remembered this tale and cleared her throat with a cough, then recited the story to her headmaster.

"A callous old man refuses to leave the shelter of his home and is visited by four travelling sisters. The first is a matronly and calm woman who encourages the reclusive man to use his time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second sister, a youthful and joyful child, tends to his crops and revitalizes his garden with fresh fruits and vegetables. The energetic and playful third sister convinces the man to step outside and embrace the world around him. And finally, the fourth sister arrives, friendly and caring and tells the man to look at all he has and be grateful."

As he heard Pyrrha recount the story, Ozpin couldn't help but smile contently, as if recalling a joyful memory. Shay seemed to take notice, and merely sighed with a palm against his forehead, yet he couldn't help but smile with him.

"As an expression of gratitude for the sisters, the man grants the maidens incredible powers so that they may continue to help others all over Remnant. The sisters graciously accept and continue to use their gifts to help people all over the world for the rest of their days."

"Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. The Four Maidens. My mother loves that story." Pyrrha said happily, concluding the story.

"What if I told you that story's been around since _I_ was a child?" Ozpin asked her lightheartedly, causing Pyrrha to giggle.

"You're not _that_ old, Professor!"

"Well then, what if I were to tell you it was true?" Ozpin asked her in the same tone, albeit with a little less jest, causing Pyrrha to quirk a brow at this change of direction.

"I… beg your pardon?"

"What if I were to tell you that there _were_ four Maidens existing in this world capable of wielding astronomical power?,,, _Without Dust_?" Ozpin asked her, in a more grounded and serious tone of voice, causing Pyrrha to squirm in her seat.

"Y-you mean… like a Semblance?"

Ozpin only smiled under his spectacles. "Like _magic_. _Sorcery._ "

"I-I'm afraid I don't-" Pyrrha began, before turning behind her to hear Shay speak up.

"Yep. Sounds crazy right? It's usually hard to swallow when you hear it the first time." Shay said, his face stone and with no levity, causing Pyrrha's heart to drop. This was real, and these men were not playing with her.

"Y-you're serious?!" Pyrrha asked, feeling her heart beat a bit faster from a mix of fear and shock, awaiting her headmaster's answer.

"Ms. Nikos… do I look like I'm joking?" Ozpin asked her with a serious glare that showed her that he was not fooling around, and that what he was telling her would be very important.

"N-no… Why… are you telling me this?" Pyrrha asked anxiously, to which Ozpin leaned in closer with his posture upright and his eyes locking with hers. Looking towards the Hunter, he received a reluctant and subtle nod of approval from Shay, before addressing the girl.

"Because Ms. Nikos… we believe you are next in line to inherit the power of the Fall Maiden"

If her will wasn't as strong and hardened as it was, Pyrrha probably would've fainted on the spot from pure shock from the incredible magnitude of information Ozpin was relaying to her, much less her being proclaimed to be the next inheritor of power straight out of a fairytale.

But before the confused Pyrrha could ask further questions, the elevator doors opened once more to reveal several new visitors, some she recognized and others that were more unfamiliar.

She caught sight of none other than her teacher Glynda Goodwitch, the Atlesian headmaster and General Ironwood, the tall and lanky Qrow Branwen, grasping a soda cup from the Festival, and Altesian Commander Haytham Kenway standing firmly next to Ironwood, keeping Qrow from tripping over his own shoes.

"Sorry we were late. We had to find _this_ idiot." Haytham said, standing a groggy Qrow on his feet by pulling him up by the collar.

"Hehehehehe*hic-* Piss off, Hay-Hay. I can stand on my own!" Qrow cackled, prompting Haytham to drop him on the floor in a tangled mess of limbs.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha's fear and anxiety only spiked upon seeing her teachers here. If they were in on this, then who the hell were they?

"W-wait! What is this? Who are you people?!" Pyrrha asked, almost starting to panic.

This was when Glynda spoke up. "You know who we are. We're still the same teachers and headmasters you knew when you arrived at Beacon."

"Except we got a little part-time job." Qrow added.

"Our work is in the shadows." Haytham interjected, joining the group.

"So that we can serve the light." Shay finished.

"We are the protectors of this world." Ironwood added.

"And we need your help, Ms. Nikos." Ozpin concluded, getting up from his desk.

* * *

 **Vault of the Relic of Choice, Under Beacon Cross-Communications Tower**

Pyrrha had one question too many about her current situation.

First of all, her headmaster had just told her that fairytale characters did indeed exist and that their power was to be bestowed upon herself.

Then, she finds out that apparently her teachers are all part of some sort of underground cult, and now she was with the members of said cult in an elevator to a hidden basement floor under Beacon Tower.

She watched Haytham scan the floor selection panel, watching his eyes shift up and down the panel, as if trying to find a hidden part hiding in plain sight.

She watched him trace a finger across a section of the elevator, seeing the pattern shine and part to reveal a hidden button to a secret floor under the school.

Suddenly, the small metal compartment descended slowly, carrying the group of six adults and herself down to the bottom levels.

"W-where are we going?" Pyrrha asked her headmaster anxiously, clutching her arm awkwardly.

Ozpin's stoic expression didn't change as he answered. "The vault. Under the school."

Soon enough, the elevator stopped and its doors parted, allowing the occupants to exit. Pyrrha was the last one out, taking a moment to observe her surroundings.

She walked out into an expansive corridor, dimly lit by the rows of torches lining the hallway, casting a dark greenish-gray color on the floor and walls.

Tall prismic pillars held up the room, raising the ceiling high above the floor. Pyrrha also noticed that although the architecture's style appeared more dated than that of the school itself, the condition of the room appeared as if it hadn't been tainted in the slightest.

Catching up to Glynda, she managed to keep up to pace with the rest of the men.

"I'm sure you must have questions." Glynda offered Pyrrha, concern for her pupil in her voice.

"Maybe one or two…"

There was much on Pyrrha's mind at the moment. Too many things she wanted to know, so much that would change the way she saw the world as she knew it.

"Y-you said I was next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's power. What do you mean by that?" Pyrrha asked meekly, to which her superiors answered.

"The Maidens have existed for thousands of years, and like in nature, the seasons change. You may have a sunny winter one day, and a blizzard the following year. When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost and that no individual may hold on to the power forever." Glynda elaborated.

"So… how does the power choose?" Pyrrha asked.

"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules!" Qrow growled, earning him a smack upside the head from Haytham.

"Hey! I'm done explaining that shit, and I ain't getting another headache from repeating myself!" Qrow grumbled, causing Shay to sigh and explain.

"Back then, the one thing we knew was that only young women were able to wield this power but eventually, we've discovered the selection process to be a tad more… intimate."

"I-intimate?..." Pyrrha echoed, fear lacing her voice.

"As we understand it now, the person that is in the Maiden's thoughts last before her death inherits the power next." Haytham answered.

"Unless it's a _boyo_ , or some old hag growin' gray hairs. Then the power chooses a host randomly, and it becomes far more hectic of a job to track them down." Shay added.

"B-but why tell me this now? Why not just wait until I've graduated?" Pyrrha asked them.

"To put it simply; time is running out. In case you haven't noticed, conditions around Remnant aren't as repressed as they used to be. Faunus/human discrimination, political tensions, Grimm attack frequencies climbing each passing day, and most importantly, the current Fall Maiden was attacked and for the first time we've seen so far, half of her power was absorbed."

"If this keeps up, this time of peace will dissolve into a domino effect of worldwide chaos and darkness." Haytham answered grimly.

"You're… not talking about war...?" Pyrrha muttered, only for Ironwood to reply.

"Not a war between nations. And you'd be on the battlefield." He continued as the group came to a stop.

Pyrrha looked ahead and saw that she was at the end of the hallway, where two human-sized capsules or pods of sorts rested aside one another. A console stood in between, presumably the controls for the machines.

The pod to her right appeared empty, connected to the other pod by a series of tubes, and she could see someone resting in a comatose state inside the other pod; a young woman from the looks of it, brown skin and dressed in a white tube top. Her brown hair was short, parting to reveal a scarred face, with gruesome marks burnt into her static face.

"I-is that…?"

Ozpin sighed and confirmed her suspicions. "The current Fall Maiden, Amber."

"She's… still alive…" Pyrrha muttered.

"We're using state-of-the-art Atlas technology to keep her stable, but there is much about this situation that is… unprecedented." Ironwood explained.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… we don't know what will happen if… _when_ she passes." Ironwood answered, correcting himself at that last bit.

"B-but… won't her power just transfer to the next host?" Pyrrha asked them.

"Thank the Lord! She listens!" Qrow yelled out, only to be ignored by the rest of the group.

Ironwood sighed. "Normally, yes. But this situation is extremely delicate. The person in her last thoughts is highly likely to be her attacker, which would not bode well if they were to receive this power. Furthermore, we've never seen the power split up in this manner before. For all we know, it may attempt to seek out its missing half."

Pyrrha gave a horrified gasp. "Her assailant."

"Correct. If her attacker were to receive the powers of the Fall Maiden, their intentions would not be as noble as others'." Ozpin said, voicing Pyrrha's thoughts.

Walking up in front of the pod, Pyrrha peered through the glass window. Inside, she could see the fragile body of the woman, lying in stasis, a pained expression written on her features. She stared at the woman, and then her own reflection staring back at her from the surface of the glass.

Then she turned back to the adults with a face of confusion and mild curiosity. "If all of this is true, if all of this is so important, then why not tell everyone? Why keep it secret?!"

At this, Shay only snickered bitterly, earning fiery stares from Ozpin and Glynda. "Because some people don't know when enough is enough."

"Excuse me?"

With a groan at the Hunter's words, Glynda spoke up. "From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge."

"Nothing is created out of void, not even legends or folklore." Haytham added.

"This group was created to keep the world _and_ the Maidens safe, as the Maidens were hunted by certain individuals who wanted their power." Glynda continued.

"And of course, those who managed to take it didn't exactly have the most... righteous intentions in mind." Qrow added, sipping from his cup before letting out a loud belch.

"Therefore, our group chose to hide the Maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into myth. What you are witnessing goes against centuries of human history and religion." Ozpin elaborated, followed by Shay.

"Think about it this way: would you accept this reality if you've been led to believe in another one your entire life? One that contradicts teachings, traditions, and philosophies that span generations? Would the world accept it that way?"

"There would be panic. Chaos." Pyrrha muttered in reply, earning a solemn nod from her headmaster.

"Yes. And that will only make the Grimm stronger. That is why-"

"I'll do it."

Ozpin looked up to the young redhead, her face steeled with conviction. "If what you say is true, and if you believe this will help humanity, then I will become your Fall Maiden."

However, as soon as she made her declaration, Pyrrha was only met with gazes of concern and perplexment from the group in front of her.

"That's… what you wanted, isn't it?"

Sharing glances between his colleagues, Ozpin took a hesitant breath and stepped forward. "Y-yes, but I'm afraid it's not that simple. Given Amber's current state, she won't be able to pass her powers on to you naturally, but General Ironwood and Commander Kenway believe they have found a solution."

With a nod from his commanding officer, the tricone-wearing man stepped forward. "Over the past few years, Atlas has been studying aura from a more scientific standpoint: its base components, its properties, its makeup. We've made… considerable progress. Putting it simply, we've found a way to isolate it from the body; contain it."

Sipping from his soon-to-be-empty soda cup, Qrow continued. "Capture it, then stuff it inside something else."

"Or in your case…"

Realizing Qrow was gesturing to her, Pyrrha's eyes widened in horror, shifted back to the pod, then the empty one, then back at the General. She couldn't believe her ears.

"That's-!"

"Classified." The General replied stoically.

"Wrong!" Pyrrha finished, shocked to the core.

"The feeling… is mutual." Shay said, directing a glare at Ironwood, before turning to Pyrrha.

"But even I have to agree, desperate times call for desperate measures."

"And these are desperate times." Glynda continued.

"We can't give you Amber's powers, but we can give you what that power is bound to."

"Her aura…" Pyrrha muttered, haunted.

"Her life will be intertwined with yours, but the real question is if you will emerge from the process as the same person." Ozpin explained, causing Pyrrha to shudder.

Noticing her fear, Ozpin sighed. "I understand that you have an important decision ahead of you, so I recommend that you take your time to think it over. But remember this: by the time the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer."

"The assailant has already made their first move… and there's no telling when they will strike next."

* * *

 **Amity Coliseum, Above Beacon Academy (Finals Round 1)**

Cinder Fall watched comfortably from her seat as the Coliseum erupted into cheers and applause for the night of the final rounds.

She did not join the crowd in their applause and only smiled softly, with a golden glare escaping her eyes as she did, calculating every outcome as the time slowly advanced to the climax of the operation.

Seated next to her were Emerald, seated obediently next to her, and Jack, who was leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed and waiting for the first match to commence.

"Are you sure the boy knows what he's doing?" Jack asked his colleague, whose smile did not drop as her gaze narrowed.

"Yes. If he fails, then I would have made a mistake." Cinder replied coldly, leaving Jack to mutter under his breath.

"So you're that confident? Fine, then. I'll play your game, wench."

Eventually, the announcers finally kicked off the round, only raising the crowd's excitement.

"Good evening, folks! It's the moment you've all been waiting for! The one-on-one finals!" Rebecca announced, causing the crowd to cheer as loudly as possible as the finalists all stepped onstage.

Yang walked among them, seeing Ezio, Penny, Sun, Mercury, and an uncharacteristically shy Pyrrha, grasping her arm softly as she gazed downwards. Yang wondered what could be the cause of her change in attitude, but she was quick to bench these thoughts as she looked around her at the crowd cheering, catching a glance of her friends cheering her on, causing her to smile and wave back to the crowd.

"Shaun, why don't you explain the rules to our faithful crowd?" Rebecca asked her partner, who scoffed and adjusted his own microphone.

"Well, Becks, unlike the previous matches, the combatants will be fighting on a blank stage, which means no environmental advantages or disadvantages. In addition, final matches will each be determined immediately before they take place." Shaun explained.

"Right, and that means any fighter can be picked at anytime, which means zero prep time! Now let's get down to business and find out who our first fighters will be!" Rebecca announced, cueing the roulette to spin on the jumbotrons, rolling the wheel to determine the next set of fighters.

Everybody held their breath as the roulette spun, before the left roll stopped on a familiar face, followed by the right.

"Sun Wukong VS Ezio Auditore!" Shaun declared, inciting the deafening roar of the audience.

"Would all other combatants please leave the stage?" Rebecca announced, cueing the other finalists to walk off the stage and enter the side exit.

Before Yang made her leave however, she managed to land a light slug on Ezio's arm, grabbing his attention and leading him to turn towards her.

"Win one for Beacon, alright?" Yang said to the Assassin with a wink, leading him to nod in return with a determined grin.

"You have my word."

Smiling at his response, Yang bumped fists with Ezio before exiting the arena.

Ezio then turned to the stage, linking eyes with the members of Team RWBY and his own Team ACEE. Ruby and Edward were cheering like madmen, Blake, Connor and Altaïr watched in anticipation, their minds analyzing the outcomes of the match, and Weiss only looked back at him.

Her eyes flinched upon noticing him stare back, but only for a moment. Her gaze then narrowed and her lips curled into a sly grin. What she said would be hard to decipher from that distance, but with his Eagle Sense, Ezio could just barely make out her words.

"You'd better not lose. You'd embarrass our school. _Me_."

Stifling a snicker, Ezio only shrugged with a cocky grin as he turned to face his opposition on the other side of the ring, who stood ready with a confident glint in his eye, his tail swishing behind him.

As the two advanced towards one another, the two of them could feel the arena beneath them rise into the air, lifting them for the whole Coliseum to see.

In addition, an outer ring rose from under the arena floor, casting spotlights on the stage.

Eventually, the two of them met at the center, staring at each other for a minute before addressing each other.

"So, here we are?" Sun asked, raising his arms with a smile.

Ezio chuckled lightly and replied. "Yes, my friend. Don't go easy on me, alright?"

With that, Sun only laughed out loud. "Trust me. You'll wish I didn't."

After laughing to himself, Ezio unsheathed his sword and got into position, watching Sun do the same with his staff, holding it behind him as he locked his upper body in a ready stance.

"Three!" The two fighters drew closer as the crowd quieted down.

"Two!" Ezio's mind quickly began to work out his opponent's state, using his Eagle Sense to anticipate his first move as they stood barely a couple of meters apart.

"One!" Ezio and Sun were now close enough for their weapons to be barely inches away from each other, as they counted down the final second to land the preemptive strike.

"FIGHT!"

Ezio moved as quick as lightning, feeling Sun's foot brush the fabric of his hood. Sun's kick was swift, almost catching the Assassin off-guard, causing Ezio to silently thank his Semblance for saving him.

In retaliation, Ezio grabbed the faunus by the foot and redirected him behind him, preparing to attack him from behind with his sword, but was caught off-guard by Sun, who used his tail to wrap around his arm, hoisting the faunus into the air and forcing his weight on Ezio's back.

Feeling Sun stop his boots against his back, Ezio let out a grunt of pain as his body jerked downwards and slammed on the ground. However, this only stalled him for a minute as Ezio contracted his sword into its heavy pistol form, sending a blast into the ground beneath him, damaging his own aura, but pushing Sun off of him.

Readying himself and standing upright with his sword, Ezio rushed forward with his own unfurled blade, preparing himself as Sun rushed forward with his own weapon.

He saw Sun leap into the air with his staff, about to strike, prompting Ezio to raise his weapon as a pistol, firing off rapid light shots in an attempt to throw him off-balance.

However, Sun's eyes widened once he saw the pistol raised to him, then began to twirl his staff in his hands, then hurling his body weight in front of him, evading the bullets and deflecting those in his flight path.

Gritting his teeth, Ezio extended his pistol into his sword as Sun prepared to land. As the two met, Ezio had his blade raised above his head as Sun slammed his staff down on top of it, Ezio buckling slightly due to the strength of the hit.

Ezio's Eagle Sense then kicked in, as did Sun's faunus instincts, igniting their minds to rearrange their bodily movements and retaliate. Ezio stepped to his side and spun on his heel, directing his blade toward the blonde boy, but Sun was far from oblivious.

Landing on his feet, Sun's feet were planted firmly on the ground as he held his staff out, stopping the Assassin's sword on its shaft, causing a cold clang ringing from metal striking metal.

Sun gripped his polearm in his hands, his arms twitching against Ezio's strength, before finally being able to push him off, preparing for a third advance.

Ezio swung his sword downwards, aiming for a slash across Sun's chest, but he leaped back, dodging. Ezio then aimed for a horizontal swing, lunging as he did so, to which Sun responded by ducking as low as he could, seeing the blade barely nick the tip of his nose.

Observing Sun's swift and high-speed movements, Ezio began to analyze his opponent's tactics. " _He's quick… agile. With speed like that? He probably won't hold out for long. He's still trying to find my openings. If he manages to get behind me again, I won't be as lucky. If he uses his Semblance, he'll tire even more easily. I just need to wait him out._ "

Using his tail to push him back up, he attacked with his staff, swinging its butt at Ezio's torso, only for his enemy to smack it away with his sword, and then Sun tried to smack the other end against Ezio's head, so he could aim for his arm in quick succession.

While Ezio was trying to figure out his opponent, so was Sun. _"Ezio's strong. His reaction time is insane. But in the beginning… he didn't do well when I attacked him in his blind spot. He probably can't do as well without that sword. If I can disarm him and get behind him as quickly as I can, I got this in the bag!_ "

However, Sun immediately snapped out of his mojo once he saw Ezio release a hand from his hilt and raised it to deflect the strike to his head, feeling the staff slam against his bracer.

Sun's eyes then immediately widened and he gasped once he saw Ezio reveal a dagger curtly grasped in his fingers, revealing itself from the shadows, but this in turn, distracted him from Ezio's sword being raised from below.

Ezio ran the blade in a reverse-held grip up Sun's torso and chin, causing his head to jerk upwards from the force, then yelped as Ezio slammed the dagger into his arm, taking a big chunk of Sun's aura.

Sun now saw Ezio standing in a ready stance, his sword behind and his dagger in front of his face as he knelt close to the ground, both weapons held in reverse.

" _A defensive stance. He's sealing off his openings. I just need to be quicker than him…_ " Sun thought to himself, before snapping his staff in two parts, revealing his nunchaku, then summoning two clones with his Semblance.

"… _and hit him where he isn't looking!_ "

Sun ran forward with his clones, causing Ezio to narrow his eyes and await Sun's next strike.

Sun rushed Ezio with a flying kick, which Ezio managed to block with his arms, crossing his blades in an "x". But this distracted Ezio from a clone leaping off of Sun's back and dropping on Ezio's back.

However, Ezio jerked his body the other way around, shooting at the clone with his pistol, only for it to evasively maneuver in the air, dodging the bullets.

Ezio then felt bullets pepper against his back, causing him to growl in pain, causing him to drop his dagger, firing a heavy blast at the ground in front of him, which Sun dodged by leaping to the side, another clone behind Ezio, trying to land a hit of its own.

However, Ezio saw him coming and grabbed the clone by the neck, pinning it to the floor, leaving him to slice out its neck by flicking his wrist and pushing the hidden blade out, causing the light copy to disappear.

Ezio then turned his attention to Sun, who was attempting to encircle him, the remaining clone shadowing his movement as it attacked with flying punches and kicks, leaping over Ezio, alternating with one another and hammering his aura down.

But Ezio only gritted his teeth and decided to bring out a hidden move. As Sun made his leap at Ezio, he dodged his kick, causing Sun to look back at his enemy and feel something catch his belly. And it was then that his eyes widened, for he knew he'd been played.

Ezio smiled as he felt the hookblade latch on to Sun, and with a loud battle cry, he threw his arm forward and down into the ground, smashing Sun's body against the floor.

Sun could feel every organ in his body rattle as Ezio slammed him to the ground, causing him to gasp hoarsely, feeling bile rise from his esophagus and a droplet of blood to escape his lips.

"… _This… is it… huh?"_ Sun thought to himself groggily as he saw Ezio raise his arm, his hidden blade extended.

But in his eyes, he could see not only a man who desired to win, but a man with respect, someone who recognized him as a worthy opponent. And with that, Sun felt grateful for this match with him. And now, he could accept his loss as an honorable one.

"Well… played… _maestro_ …" Sun gave a final thought to himself with a smile, feeling Ezio's blade jam into his aura, as he rested his head back, barely managing to hear the buzzer ring and the crowd cheering.

"And that's the match! What a way to kick off the finals!" Rebecca announced as the crowd cheered madly.

"Ezio Auditore is victorious!" Shaun declared as spotlights flashed on the Assassin, causing the crowd to cheer for their champion.

Ezio watched Sun as he was carried away on a stretcher, conscious, but heavily exhausted. While the faunus was quite the joker and could be somewhat obnoxious when he wanted to, Ezio could not deny that the man had talent.

And as he saw him being hoisted up and carried through the exit, he couldn't help but place a hand on his heart and bow in respect to the boy as he left the stadium.

* * *

 **Terraces, Amity Coliseum**

"Yeah! I knew he'd make it!" Ruby cheered, whooping at the top of her lungs as she raised her fists to the sky.

"Yes, with his skill, I hardly ever doubted him." Altaïr admitted with a smile.

Edward applauded his friend, cheering loudly as well, but turned to see Weiss with a delighted face, but oddly calm.

"Yo, Weiss! What's with the face?" The pirate asked his friend.

Weiss snapped out of her trance and immediately jerked her head towards Edward, her face red as she waved her arms about frantically.

"Y-y-yeah? W-what is it?!"

After a second, Edward quickly guessed the reason for her behavior and sneered sinisterly. "Aaahhh! Wanna see him swing his _sword_ for you under the sheets, I see!"

With that, Weiss' face turned as red as Pyrrha's hair with a sweat dripping down her forehead as her brain lost control of her imagination. Before she knew it, her hands were around Edward's neck, shaking him back and forth rather violently.

"YOU DARE?! I WILL END YOUR LIFE WHERE YOU STAND, YOU FILTHY DEGENERATE! IT'S NOT LIKE I LIKE HIM THAT WAY!" She screeched furiously at the blonde-haired Assassin, causing his head to spin and coarse gargles to escape his throat.

"Oh, look. Ladies and gentlemen, round two." Blake sarcastically remarked, smiling as she watched her friends go at it.

"But… isn't the stage is empty?" Connor asked, slightly confused at his friend's words, prompting Blake to sigh at Connor's bluntness.

But sure enough, the next match was about to begin as the screens fired up once more.

* * *

 **Amity Coliseum, Above Beacon Academy (Finals Round 2)**

"Well, that was one hell of a match, wasn't it, Shaun?" Rebecca asked over the microphone.

"Indeed, Becks. Looks like Beacon's students are on the road to victory! But as always, there can only be one victor, so don't lose hope, Mistral! We've seen real competition from you!" Rebecca cheerfully commented.

"That being said, let's see what our next matchup will be!" Shaun announced, gesturing for the roulette to spin as the crowd waited in anticipation.

The roulette spun once more and everybody held their breath, waiting to see the next fighters chosen. Ezio and Sun had joined their teams up in the terraces, greeted by congratulations and pats on the back for their battle.

Meanwhile, Cinder, Jack and Emerald sat in their own seats, watching as the next combatants were chosen. Not that they wanted to see who they were. After all, they already knew how this was going to end.

The roulettes slowed down, landing on a new pair of finalists as the crowd's cheers spiked up in volume once more.

"Yang Xiao Long VS Mercury Black!"

"Would our fighters tonight please make your way onstage immediately?" Shaun announced, as the two finalists entered the arena from opposite sides of the Coliseum, leading the crowd to cheer deafeningly.

From the sidelines, Teams RWBY and ACEE were ecstatic once they heard another one of them was to fight. Ruby was most excited, considering her own sister was about to enter the ring.

"Break a leg, sis!" Ruby called out loudly, excited for the match to begin.

"You'd better keep this streak going! Fuck up his arse for us!" Edward yelled out, not seeming to care about his loud and profane declarations.

"This will be interesting…" Connor muttered, catching Blake and Altaïr's attention.

"Both of their weapons function very similarly, but in terms of technique, they differ greatly." He continued, prompting Blake to nod in agreement.

"Yeah. Yang doesn't do well against kicks, but her Semblance has the potential to turn the tables in an instant." Blake added, watching her partner walk to the center stage as the arena hovered into the air.

As the spotlights flashed on the stage, Yang turned to her silver-haired opponent and smirked. "Gonna go easy on me, tiger?"

In response, Mercury only scoffed. "Heh. You wish!"

"Good. You'll be glad you didn't." Yang said with a grin, cracking her knuckles as she prepared for the match to begin.

Flicking her arms down, Yang unfurled her bracelets into her signature gauntlets, assuming a combat stance as she neared Mercury.

Mercury was the same, with his boots close to the ground and his arms crossed in front of his face like a kickboxer.

"Three!" The two of them shuffled closer to the center of the ring, their eyes scanning each other for openings or weaknesses to exploit.

"Two!" Yang's breaths were drawn and heavy as she attempted to block out the noise of the crowd, her eyes focused on her enemy.

"One!" The two of them were now barely a foot away from each other, their fists threatening to make contact with one another, making Mercury swear that his hand felt a bit warmer as it neared Yang's.

"FIGHT!"

Yang's reaction was instantaneous, as was Mercury's. Yang yelled a battle cry as she reeled her fist back for an opening strike, drawing her aura into Ember Celica to amplify her power.

Mercury flipped back and leaped toward Yang, his knee curled up to his torso as he aimed his boot at the blonde girl.

As both fighters collided, the impact passed shortly, but was powerful nonetheless. Yang could feel the bones in her arm rattle with the impact, her hair blasted backward by the shockwave from the collision.

Mercury then kicked off from Yang and flipped back gracefully on his feet. Narrowing his gaze, Mercury rushed Yang and leaped up for another kick, aiming for her legs.

However, Yang was no amateur and leaped up as Mercury made his move, dodging his attack and getting behind him.

Smiling, Yang fired off a shell from Ember Celica, managing to hit Mercury in the back, causing him to flinch with a muted grunt.

Finding her opening, Yang grinned as she moved in for the kill, her mind coming up with strategies as her body fought.

Seeing Yang rush up to him, Mercury knew what was coming next. His father hadn't died without telling him some of his tricks.

Raising an arm, Mercury felt Yang's forearm clash with it, then he aimed downward, which Yang countered as well. Frustrated, Yang swung a left arm at Mercury, which he deflected with his arm.

Growling, Mercury swung a left hook for Yang's face, only for the girl to duck as she aimed an uppercut for his chin. Gasping internally, Mercury propped his boots against Yang's and fired.

Both hits were connected, sending both combatants away from each other. As Mercury rose up again, his mind began to devise a new strategy after getting up close and personal with Yang's style.

" _She's fast, maybe as fast as I am. Her specialty is close-range, but she probably can't do much to defend against long range. I just need to beat her in one shot, something she can't just punch her way out of. All I need… is to wear her down._ " Mercury thought to himself, readying himself to run as he saw Yang fire up her gauntlets.

As he broke into a sprint, Yang aimed and punched at the air, firing off explosive flares from Ember Celica's barrels, blowing holes into the floor as the boy dipped and dived to dodge the blasts.

After side-stepping a blast, Mercury sprung himself into the air towards Yang with his right leg raised up for a downward slam. Anticipating the move, Yang reacted quickly, crossing her arms above her head, feeling the jarring clang of his boots against her gauntlets.

Growling under her breath, Yang pushed her opponent off, leading him to flip backward. Spotting an opening, Yang fired off a shot in front of her, but much to her annoyance, the boy dropped down, landing on his knees and dodging the flare.

A sneer crept up Mercury's lips as he flipped his body backward and into the air, sending a metal heel up Yang's chin and kicking her above the stage.

Yang's patience was wearing thin, and she could feel the heat creep down from her hair and smothering her limbs, but it still wouldn't be enough. Not yet. Her power was rising, and she needed to take a few more hits to be able to overpower Mercury.

Returning to the fight with newfound determination, Yang aimed Ember Celica behind her and fired, pushing her towards Mercury at breakneck speed.

Once she closed in on Mercury, Yang aimed a right jab at him, then a left and a right again, only to be parried by his arms with each shotgun-assisted punch.

Deciding to change things up, Yang twisted her body into a backward kick, mimicking Mercury's move as both of them clashed legs, slamming into one another above them and another down low.

Mercury then leaped up with a flip, slamming his heel into the floor, Yang leaping back to dodge abruptly. From his grounded position, Mercury was still far from vulnerable, as he kicked his legs up to stun Yang and dodge her explosive ground-pound, aiming a mid-air scissor kick at her legs.

Maneuvering himself back on his feet, Mercury thrust a leg for Yang's forehead, only to be dodged easily. However, Mercury then redirected his boot downwards, slamming into the floor with enough force to blow a small crater into the ground.

Yang dodged with a flip backward, and then raised her arms to shield herself from Mercury's kicks and countering with a kick of her own. Mercury then returned with his own set of kicks.

Yang leaned back, ducking under an upwards strike, then curled her torso backward, feeling a horizontal swing of his boot breeze past.

While dodging Mercury's strikes, Yang was secretly waiting for her opportunity, and she was about to see it. " _He hits like lightning, but I can read his moves. And he'll jump… NOW!_ "

Mercury quickly followed his previous move with a leaping kick, which Yang anticipated by blocking her face with both gauntlets raised. Yang then watched as he pushed off again, about to flip himself back up.

" _This is it! Now or never!_ "

Yang then immediately used this precious pocket of time to run in close, slapping away Mercury's rising shin and ramming a flaming uppercut into his chin, sending him upwards and jarring Mercury's senses.

With her enemy stunned, Yang immediately sent a recoil-powered elbow into Mercury's gut, the piston-like blow sending him to the ground. Yang saw Mercury get up again, but she noticed he was losing the blinding speed he possessed at the beginning of the match.

" _He's not as sharp as he was. Now, for the quick finish!_ " Yang thought to herself, raining flares down Mercury's way. Gasping to himself, Mercury flipped backward to dodge the explosive missiles, only to realize he had flown right off the edge of the arena.

Mercury was in trouble. If he touched the ground below, it was an automatic disqualification. Luckily for him, he had a counter for this situation. Pressing both his heels together, Mercury fired off his shotgun boots, using the recoil to fly back up onto the ring.

Seeing the shock on Yang's face, a sneer crept onto Mercury's face as he sprinted up to Yang, kicking at her with blinding speed. Being attacked from all sides at rapid speed, Yang's composure was beginning to ebb away as she used both her legs and arms to fend off Mercury's barrage.

Ducking beneath an overhead kick, Yang immediately received a boot to the face, pushing the blonde girl backward as he fired a wind Dust round at her.

Priming his boots, Mercury prepared his trump card. Raising a leg, he began to spin in a circle while kicking off into the air to fire off dozens upon dozens of Dust rounds, the wind energy blasts spinning in a tornado around him.

Growling in frustration, Yang dodged Mercury's blasts and attempted to get in close, aiming a powerful right jab at Mercury's face, only to be parried by his forearm, and then having a cross blocked by his hand.

Mercury then kicked up and threw his heel down, knocking down Yang's defense for a moment. Using this valuable opportunity, Mercury slammed his boot into Yang's forehead, throwing her into the air, leaving her open for Mercury to leap up and pound Yang into the floor.

And with that, Mercury's previously fired cyclone of shots swirled inwards, each bullet hammering down on Yang relentlessly, savagely depleting her aura.

Breathing heavily from the intense match, Mercury rose up on his feet and dusted himself off, nearly breaching his limit. But Mercury did wonder exactly why the buzzer hadn't rung yet…

But he found the answer soon enough when he heard the noise of roaring flames behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw what would normally be Yang, if it weren't for her hair glowing a bright gold, her fists literally engulfed in fire, and her eyes a searing-hot red.

With barely enough time to react, Mercury swung a kick towards Yang, only for Yang to smack the foot aside and deck him across the face with a shattering blow.

Mercury could feel that her strikes were several times more powerful than her initial strength at the beginning of the match, as he could actually feel that punch numb his senses as she hammered meteor-like blows into his body, leaving him unable to counterattack.

Yang was like a machine of rage, raining hell on her enemy as she swung, left, then right, then left again as each strike quenched her anger more and more.

Finally, she slammed a fist into Mercury's gut, firing a shell from her gauntlet as she did, seeing his aura finally dissipate, flickering a silvery gray before fading away completely.

With that, the buzzer rang out loudly, calling off the match and prompting the crowd to rise in unison to cheer loudly.

"And that's the second round! Yang Xiao Long wins!" Rebecca enthusiastically declared, leading the audience to rise in volume as Yang raised a fist in victory.

"Yeah! That's how you do it, Sis!" Ruby yelled out from her seat in the terraces.

Yang looked at the silver-haired boy kneeling down in defeat. While she hadn't known him much, he was powerful and a skilled fighter, and in a way, Yang found that rather respectable.

"Better luck next time." Yang said to Mercury before walking back to the exit to join her team.

But little did she know, what happened next would change everything.

"There's not gonna be a next time, Blondie…"

Yang's eyes widened as she heard those dark words, and rapidly turned behind her to see Mercury leaping at her with a flying kick.

Yang knew she had to do something, and just like that, Yang reacted. Within a split-second, she slammed a punch down onto Mercury, hitting him right in the shin and flooring him in an instant.

Furious that Mercury would leap at her after their match had ended, Yang honestly felt that the boy got what was coming to him for being a terrible sport. Surely her teachers and friends would understand.

"Yeah, that's what you get, you little-… huh?"

Suddenly, Yang immediately realized what was happening around her.

The crowd wasn't cheering her on. In fact, they were now jeering and booing.

She was surrounded by Atlesian Knights, all of them aiming their weapons at her.

She looked in front of her to see Mercury cradling his leg, writhing in apparent pain as Emerald held him in her arms, glaring at Yang.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Mercury yelled at Yang, tears building up in his eyes.

Then she saw it; up on the screens, she saw herself, walking past Mercury, then throwing a punch into his leg, causing it to snap unnaturally.

Yang's eyes widened in disbelief, then shock, and then fear. She then directed her gaze above her.

Her team stared back at her confused eyes in shock and disbelief.

She caught sight of Edward and the rest of his team, just as horrified and shocked as Team RWBY.

She also glanced at Team JAAE, its eccentric leader being restrained by security robots as he writhed and struggled in their grip, apparently yelling angrily as he was carried back to his seat.

She looked all around her, then at her hands, and only had one question in mind.

"What the hell did I do?"

* * *

 **Up next: Origin of Evil!**

 **Hello, world! I am back and ready to gear up for the Battle of Beacon! To reassure some of my more concerned readers, no I will NOT be dropping this story! I may take an eternity to upload anything, but I never give up on this thing! Also: WE HAVE 100,000 views! WHAT?! Thanks to all of you for getting me this far! I know you'll want me to update as soon as possible, and I will try to honor those requests! So anyways, I've been Viva, and I'll see you all… next time! BYE-BYE!**

* * *

 **Johnny** **Spectre** **: Yeah, that could work. Also, "Grimm Order"? Sounds interesting…**

 **Nothing is True: You're right. Thanks for the cool ideas!**

 **merendinoemiliano** **: I will try to deviate more once I get to Volume 4, so sit tight.**

 **Guest: Yeah, sure.**

 **Sam hill: Thanks for being patient!**

 **Guest: Yeah, that trope does get annoying, that's why I chose to do something different for this story.**

 **Guest Isa: Yeah, I'm thinking of introducing two different groups of Templars: The ones who honor their mission and want peace, and the bad apples only out for power.**

 **CT7567Rules: Thanks! Saw Deadpool 2 and it was beautiful, didn't bother watching Solo.**

 **The Hidden One: Cool. I might consider these, but remember; what's a good story without spicing things up a little? Also, here's a question. If the Apple was hidden under Beacon, how the hell would Edward happen to have a Shroud with him?**

 **Guest: Thanks for reading my story!**

 **475213:** **Mhmm** **…**

 **Fenozzel12: I might be slow, but I'm not stopping anytime soon.**

 **Zane Tribal Tyne Alexandros:** **Mhmm** **. And bad girls need to be disciplined,** **amiright** **? Also, admit it. We're all idiots anyway.**

 **Guest: Done!**

 **Guest: I agree that Alexios or Kassandra would be awesome to add into the story, but I don't know exactly how to implement them just yet. Maybe I'll find the answer to that soon enough! Thanks for the idea!**


	32. Fire and Forget

" _ **The dark side is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural." (Sheev Palpatine, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith)**_

* * *

 **Several years ago…**

I listen… I lean my ear in more as the words whisper calmly into my ear once more.

The presence before me is something… dark. Something… evil. But I have no fear. I have no doubts, no regrets, no hesitation.

Oddly enough, I feel from the bottom of my soul… joy. A twisted sense of comfort.

I know this is wrong. That this is shouldn't be. But as she showed me the truth, the perverse reality I have been forced to believe my whole life, I did as I was asked and I questioned everything I knew.

I have never been the same since.

And I have never been happier.

So she asked me once more with a voice that made my spine freeze over with a chill, and without a second thought, I answered.

"I want to be strong. I want to be feared."

"I want to be… powerful."

She smiles at me, and I feel both relief and joy at her satisfaction.

She tells me what I have to do, and while I begin to question her, it's for the wrong reasons and I know that full well.

"Why? Why _him_?" I ask her.

She doesn't smile like she did before. Instead, she sternly replies, and I nod my head in understanding and submission. Her will I shall exact and my soul will be rewarded.

I rise from my seat and turn my body toward her, bowing deeply. This position brings back… unsightly memories, but I do not quiver.

I have been reborn, and now I serve nobody, but her alone.

* * *

 **Elsewhere…**

I look in front of me, at this… monster before me.

Whatever it is, it boggles me to imagine why she would accept it like she did me.

I was her chosen one, was I not? Then why does she tell me to cooperate with this animal?

The creature before me was seated on the floor, his back arched in a slouch against the wall. His body was bare and skinny, to the point where pale skin hugged his bones tightly.

The mop on his head was greasy and dark, obscuring blood-crimson eyes that appeared to glow in the darkness, accented by pulsing veins running throughout his body and a shark-toothed smile.

I could see this… thing sharing some similarity to her, but at the same time, their airs carried completely different reactions to me.

Where I would have felt submission and joy from her, from this perversion, I only felt disgust. Maybe even a hint of fear.

"So you're her prize pupil, eh? The one to lead us to victory?" He asks with a gravelly voice, the detestable scent of carrion and ash in his breath.

I glare down at this abomination with fire in my eye. This thing would not be shaken by my charms, so I must put him in his place. Under my flaming heel and begging.

"Know your place. From this point on, you will follow me or you may lose your chance of a painless death." I sneer at him.

But instead of fear, the creature cackles like a witch and stands on his feet, twirling a serrated knife in his hand. He glares at me in the eye with a grin and moves in closer as he points the blade at my unflinching face.

"Alright, Fall. Let me make something very clear. I serve nobody. Not you, not even her."

I do not reply, nor do I back down from my dominant stance. This animal will heel before me like all others should.

"Secondly, name's Jack. J-A-C-K. Remember that, or I'll carve it into that eye you're hiding there. It's not like you'll be using it once I'm done." The madman grins, as his face is right in front of me, holding a knife in his hand aimed for my eye.

My hand is soon wrapped around his wrist, holding him in place as both of us stand face-to-face. His dark eyes are inches from mine, but they aren't shaking, and neither are mine as his scalding breath brushes against my lips.

His stare drills holes through my pupils and into my very soul, watching me closely like a snake about to strike. This man knows how to play the part of a monster, and it amused me to an extent.

I won't be getting anywhere with him, nor will I be getting along with him, but still, I know that we are more alike under the surface. His act does not faze me, nor does mine him. Maybe a bit of truth is in order.

"Alright, Jack. Maybe you won't listen to me, nor do you have any reason to. But you must realize… we are more alike than you think."

My voice is calm and controlled. Icy and cold, yet warm and alluring. This seems to have a very minor effect on him, as his eyebrow rises in the slightest.

"Tell me, Jack. How many years has it been since your first kill? How many lives have followed?"

Jack's shark-like sneer grows in size as he replies, closer than ever.

"Eighty? Maybe a hundred or two? I lost count at fifty."

The amateur has an impressive count, perhaps comparable to the maniacal animal we call a colleague. Nonetheless, I reply.

"Impressive… but do you remember why you do this? Why you choose to brandish that knife and strike?"

Jack's eyes brighten in color as the veins on his body glow in a similar color.

"I can't explain why… but I love it. It's fun. Brings a smile to my face. Every kill makes me stronger. Happier. Their faces twisting in…fear. Do you feel the same?"

I sneer under my lip. I have him now.

"Yes, Jack. I do. You aren't alone."

Jack's arm relaxes in my grip, and I release him. He crouches on the ground before me, knelt on one foot as he draws heavy breaths.

Smirking at his behavior, I draw a canister from my belt and uncap it, swirling the Dust around my arm as it glows a fiery red.

I then clench my fist, wrapping my fingers around an elegantly crafted dagger made of glass Dust.

Holding out my hand, I bring the dagger to his face, which he eyes with manic wonder and captivation.

He then looks directly at me, not leering at my slender body and features, but directly into my eyes. He can see it. My fearlessness. My assertiveness. My conviction.

I look back down at him, and I see one thing in his eyes.

Respect.

"Now then… partner. Follow me, and we will show them all… fear."

* * *

 **"So then, what's the plan?"**

" **Now, we find followers. We can't do this with just the two of us."**

" **W-wha-?! She went that way!"**

" **Sometimes, real potential hides beneath the surface. You just need to dig deeper to find the treasure within."**

" **Are you certain this… rat is the one you want?"**

" **Yes. I'm positive."**

" **That's a first…"**

* * *

As expected, the girl was frightened. Confused.

She didn't know who we were or what we wanted, and she probably assumed we were Huntsmen who were about to turn her in.

The girl was quite an exotic pick. Dark skin, mint-haired hair cut short and tied back into thin tails behind her head. Her eyes were a dark maroon, contrasting heavily with her hair.

Her clothing was ragged and dirty, consisting of simple pants with mismatched holsters, likely stolen. Her small top was stained and dirty, and her body quivered in fear when we stepped closer.

She was backed into a corner in a back alley, boxed in by the walls of the buildings, surrounded by trash.

My associate followed close behind, wearing a mask crudely stitched together from rags to hide his hideous face. He also wore a hooded jacket to appear more inconspicuous in the open. Not an effective choice in my opinion.

Deciding that thinking about this matter was not worth my time anymore, I turned to direct my attention to the scared teenage girl before me.

My lips parted, and my voice was calm and reassuring, trying to settle the girl's anxiety.

"How did you do that?"

I wait for an answer, but the girl isn't calming down. In fact, she growls as she reaches for the two guns holstered behind her belt.

Despite this aggression, my stance doesn't change or flinch in the slightest as I keep my lips curled slyly. As much as I keep up the pace, I can't deny that this girl was rather cute trying to fight back.

Instead, I calmly raise my hand, beckoning her to stand down. After all, it would only make things worse for the girl.

"Don't."

"Unless of course… you want them to hear you."

Muffled shouts and yells of the thief's pursuers could be heard in the distance, gradually increasing in volume. The girl flinched for a moment but begrudgingly lifted her hands from her firearms, keeping a close eye on Jack and me.

"What do you want?" She asked warily, and rightly so. I could see the fear in her eyes as she looked at us.

"Hey girl, we don't repeat ourselves. Just start talking." Jack snarled, taking a small step forward.

The girl's stance shifted slightly, and her gaze only narrowed, but she wasn't going to attack us. She wouldn't have a chance to anyways.

"I didn't do anything! Just leave me alone!" The girl insisted, trying to keep up her aggressive façade, but we knew better.

"I know my fair share of liars and thieves. Stealing in itself is an art. It requires patience, coordination, subtlety and in a pinch, sleight of hand. Like a magician putting on a show…"

Jack said, before slipping a knife into his grasp and flinging it at the thief's feet, plunging the blade firmly into the ground between her boots, causing her to leap back with a soft yelp.

"… or a predator pouncing on unsuspecting prey."

"Y-your point?" The girl asked the man, her voice quivering.

"I know what thievery looks like. What you pulled back there with that ring there in your pocket… was no thievery."

I watch as the girl's eyes bug out for a moment as her hand moves to one of her pouches. Jack seemed to almost be as good as I was at this. How useful.

"H-how did y-yo-" The girl stutters frantically before I step in.

"You know. You grabbed it right before the jeweler's eyes… and he smiled. What a unique gift you have… Emerald Sustrai." I tell her, causing her composure to break down. Now she was mine for the taking.

"W-who… are you guys?..."

Neither I or my colleague say anything, and while none of us turned to look at one another, but we both could feel the sinister aura stuff up the air between the three of us. This was going to be rather… interesting to say the least.

* * *

" **Tell me, kid. What kind of a world do you believe in?"**

" **T-this is crazy…"**

" **Everything you know, you will learn to doubt. To question."**

" **Impossible…"**

" **So what happens next?"**

" **I need an apprentice."**

" **He lives in the mountains with his son."**

" **Follow us, and we will open your eyes."**

"… **thank you…"**

* * *

Long story short, this was not what I was expecting to see.

The boy stood with a hunched posture, his silver hair messy and bloodstained, much like his scarred and bruised face.

His breaths were hoarse and heavy, and his entire body was covered in ash and burn marks. Most notably of all, his legs were bandaged to his lower thighs, stained with blood as he stood with an awkward balance as if he was struggling to remain upright.

"What're you looking at?! Huh?!" The boy yelled aggressively, causing Emerald to flinch at the sudden outburst beside me.

Behind him, I see the house on top of the hill, with flames and black smoke bursting from the roof, illuminating the mountainside with golden light.

If this kid had been living with this killer, there could only be one explanation, and if that were true, then we might be lucky.

Like myself, he didn't intimidate Jack. In fact, we both appeared to grow in our interest towards this boy.

"Hey kid, know a man by the name of Marcus Black? Heard he lives 'round these parts." Jack asked him from under his mask.

To this, the boy's glare tightened as he spat bloodstained phlegm on the ground beside him. "You want the fat bastard? Well, here you go."

He then gestured below him, leading the three of us to look downward at the corpse of an older man lying on the road, with his throat slit open and his clothes drenched in blood.

"T-that's him? The assassin?!" Emerald exclaimed in disbelief. Her reaction was understandable, though. This man was a skilled and experienced killer, well-trained in his art and notorious for his list of achievements. To think that a mere boy could surpass him at his own game was preposterous unless this was no mere boy.

"And you're his son…" I mutter with my lips curling into a smile.

The boy's brows lower more, telling me that he didn't take this fact rather well, considering he would go so far as to end his life himself.

"We saw your fight from the treeline. Your father's taught you well." I then add with a soft voice, putting the agitated youth at ease. I watch his stare soften in magnitude as his breathing slows.

"Guess so…" The boy says, his breathing heavy as his lungs heave in exhaustion.

"What's your name, kid?" Jack asks him, leading him to pause for a minute, hesitant to answer, when he looks in my direction and complies.

"Mercury."

I feel another grin rise to my face as I know I have him in the palm of my hand. Jack is smiling as well, but Emerald still looks wary of the boy. No matter. She would have to bear with him.

"Mercury… tell me. Are you anything like your father?" I ask him.

Mercury pauses at my question, but he answers rather quickly. "No. I'm better."

A bold reply, to say the least. He was confident in his ability, and judging from his latest victim, he sounded like he stood by his claims. It made me quite… excited.

"Prove it to me."

* * *

" **So, what's in it for me?"**

" **We don't need him! Everything was going fi-* AGH!"**

" **Do** _ **not**_ **mistake your place, child."**

" **The faithful will be rewarded for their unconditional servitude."**

" **My dad always said, "If you wanna know a city, ask the rats."**

" **Well hello… gorgeous. A-and who's this?"**

" **So let me get this straight…"**

* * *

I stand calmly in the tent, Jack standing beside me with Emerald and Mercury kneeling down beside us. I can feel the tension in the air as the animal before me drones on.

The four of us are in a small camp in the vast forests of Forever Fall, populated by a hundred or two of loyal dogs. They were wary of our presence, growling as their gazes passed over us.

Their leader was no different, speaking with an aggressive and assertive tone of voice, similar to that of a cult leader's or a religious zealot getting off from the noise of his own voice. It made me want to vomit on the spot, but he wasn't done talking.

"… you could've gone to anyone for help. You could've made a deal with a gang leader, paid off some Huntsmen that have strayed from their... righteous path." The tall man says, gripping his katana tightly as hatred flares under the eye slits of his small mask.

"But instead, you choose to seek an audience with me." Adam Taurus says, almost in outrage as he stares directly at the two of us.

"Well, why wouldn't we, Adam? You have admirable talents that we require. Your skills, your mind, your ability to lead those beneath you. We've put plenty of thought into-" I manage to say before he cuts me off again.

"Then you're clearly not thinking straight! If you truly understood me, you would know coming here was a mistake. The White Fang is not an organization for hire. We're a force of revolution!" He says with a commendable degree of passion in his tone.

I hear Jack scoff lightly under his mask, and I spot Mercury and Emerald exchanging perplexed looks. On the other hand, his flamboyant words don't sway me as we continue our negotiations and Jack steps forward.

"Trust us when we tell you that both of us can benefit from this collaboration. We've got an… associate in Vale. We're working on a revolution of our own. How's about you join in on the action? We could use-" Jack says to him, but is interrupted himself by the faunus.

"What you could use… is a valid excuse for consulting the White Fang. What you ask of my men is to die for your cause. For a human cause, no less. I have no intention of entertaining that idea." Adam stubbornly barks, gripping his weapon tightly in his palm.

I'm not smiling anymore. Not exactly the sort of face I put on. Jack notices this and sends a questioning look my way. I ignore him and tend to my thoughts.

The dog in front of me scowls at me as if I were putrid fodder beneath his feet. I don't like that look. Not one bit. It made my heart drain, leaving a black hole of malice and repressed hatred.

This animal would get what was coming to him, and eventually, he would see things our way. He would have no choice anyway.

"Very well," I mutter to him as I bow, hiding my thoughts deep under as I did. I would get back at this cocky brat, but for now, I'd let him have his moment. It'd be fun to watch that masked face twist to look at me with fear.

I beckon for my subordinates to follow me, to which they obediently complied and followed me out of the tent.

* * *

" **Well, that went smoothly."**

" **Spare me your horrendous sarcasm."**

" **So, what's the plan now?"**

" **Now, we take action."**

" **Excuse me, but I'm looking for a friend of mine?"**

" **Ah yes! You just missed her! She just left this morning!"**

" **Remember the plan. Exactly as we discussed. Not a foot out of place."**

" **Oh, this'll be** _ **fun**_ **."**

* * *

The day is low, and the clouds are gathering above. The forest surrounds the open field, a single dirt path slicing through the middle of the area.

We waited in our respective fields, waiting for her to arrive and enter her final battlefield. None of us made a sound as we watched the forest clearing, waiting patiently for her.

And sure enough, it happened. The clopping of hooves rang throughout the field, reaching all our ears as our glares narrowed in anticipation.

A white horse emerged from the forest's depths, revealing a youth with a green cloak draped over her shoulders, hiding humble brown attire with golden armor and boots. Her face was hidden by her hood, yet she carried a joyful demeanor.

How… adorable.

The woman stopped, as she looked ahead down the road. What she would see was a small child, crying next to her tipped bicycle.

The perfect bait for naïve Good Samaritans like her. Naturally, the woman dismounts from her steed, then opens one of the pouches on her saddle to retrieve something before walking down the path.

The woman's posture is calm, yet careful, trying not to intimidate the child she sees before her. It almost made me giggle under my breath to see such innocence.

She then kneels down on one leg, then holds a hand out, revealing a plump, red apple in her palm. But little does she know that a couple meters in front of her, my subordinate stands ready, her hands slowly reaching behind her for her revolvers.

Her eyes flinch, indicating she was working her brain intensely to keep her distracted. Emerald then moves into a stance, pushing a foot back, kicking up some dust.

Then I grin as I watch the woman's smile drop as she looks ahead of her, noticing the disturbance in the environment.

A few moments pass, as all breaths were held. Emerald flinches, and suddenly the woman leaps back with absurd speed. The horse gallops out of the field, but the young woman reaches behind her and retrieves her weapon.

A long crystal-tipped staff fully extends in her hand as she twirls it in her grasp, preparing for her stand.

" _And now, the fun begins. Show me that I have not misjudged you two._ "

Emerald rushes forward with both revolvers in hand, unloading her clips onto the woman, who raised her free hand, stopping the bullets on her aura.

She then twirls her weapon around her, guiding the winds with her weapon as massive gusts swirled around her. The white crystal on her staff then glowed white, blasting the wind in Emerald's direction, throwing her off her feet.

I then watch as Mercury leaps in from his hiding place, attempting to hammer down on her with his boots. Amber gasps as soon as she notices him, then raises her staff to block his strike and throw him off of her.

Emerald rejoins the fight, running in from behind, but Amber sees her approaching her and aims a gust of wind towards her, only for her to leap to the side to dodge.

I then see Mercury recover as he props his feet against the fence on the side of the road and fires off, sending him shooting towards Amber at high speed.

However, I notice his mistake sooner than he does. Amber sees him coming and aims the end with the red crystal at him, which causes red-hot energy to surge around the weapon as a wall of flame is sent towards Mercury.

However, I smile once I see that Mercury is largely unaffected. His pants burn in the flame, disintegrating to reveal his cybernetic legs. His momentum does not slow down as Mercury is soon in Amber's face, coiling back a metal leg for a kick.

Mercury's boot jabs into Amber's jaw, sending her flying into the air, allowing Emerald to leap on top of her, digging her into the road with her boots stomping down on her stomach.

I smile, almost proudly. It seems that I was right in my judgment, as usual. But it was far from over, and I wasn't stupid enough to believe so.

The two of them then rejoin one another at a safe distance, and for good reason.

Amber's eyes then shoot open, with powerful energy flaring from her eyes as she rises to her feet, sending massive bursts of wind in all directions, causing Mercury and Emerald raise their arms in front of their faces to shield themselves from the wind.

Amber's feet then leave the ground as she hovers into the air, lifting her hands to call lightning from the storm clouds above her.

A grin rises from my lips. So this was the power of the Maidens! The power I would rightfully claim as my own. How tantalizing!

Amber directed her gaze below to my subordinates, looking at them like a human would to a pathetic and harmless ant. In the face of her power, they were nothing against her.

Amber then throws lightning bolt after lightning bolt down at the two of them, leaving them to dodge and dive to dodge the strikes.

I stepped out from my hiding place, as did Jack. Now that her true power was in the picture, we couldn't simply leave it to our new wards. This was going to be rather easy with the four of us.

I reached for my blades, and I turned to Jack brandishing his own. He sends a maniacal smile my way, and I return it with a sadistic grin of my own.

Mercury fires round after round from his boots, and Emerald empties her clips into the Maiden, only for every attack to bounce off of her uselessly.

Amber then raises a hand, and the winds move and wind to collect the thousands of fallen leaves on the ground nearby, raising them to swirl around her like a hurricane.

She then clenches her fist, and suddenly, the air around them drops in temperature and the leaves are now frozen solid, tipped with razor-sharp edges of ice. Emerald and Mercury could only stare in fear as Amber flings her arm in their direction, each and every leaf following her command and raining down on the two of them like a hail shower.

Emerald screams in pain as the ice peppers at her aura, while Mercury deflects the assault with his metal legs, curling them against his body to shield himself.

And now, it's my turn to join in the fray. I run as fast as I could, keeping my eyes on the prize as I move in closer. Amber notices me and flings a fireball in my direction.

However, I leap over it and feel it explode behind me. As I land, my heels kick up the dust. Opening my palm, I release some glass Dust into the air, causing it to merge with the sand and dirt.

The particles then heat up and crystalize, forming transparent shards in the air. Flicking my arm up towards Amber, the shards then cut into her body, causing her to yell in pain as she falls to the ground.

The girl is face-down on the ground and in the middle of a losing fight. She knew she had lost just as much as we all did, and it made me smile sadistically.

She looked all around us, her eyes blinking and twitching back and forth as if trying to follow our movements. Emerald was using her Semblance to great effect.

Nodding to my subordinates, we three all rushed in, rapidly closing the distance between us and the young Maiden.

Without her weapon, Amber was in a poor position to fight, and against three people, she had no chance already.

I leaped in first, reeling my arm back for a swing at her, which she dodged by leaning back. I aim a swing of my other blade at her chest, but she blocks it with her forearm. Growling under my breath, I swing a leg for her side, which she blocks with a raised thigh.

Amber then swings an arm at me, and I block it with a raised arm, but she then lands a shin to my side, and a jarring kick to my face, sending me backward.

I dig my blades into the ground to slow my momentum and grin as I watch Emerald and Mercury advance toward the girl.

Mercury aims a flying kick at Amber, which she responds to by vaulting over Mercury and dodging Emerald's aerial attack. Landing on both feet, she then repels Mercury by smacking a heel against his jaw and flipping up with a kick to his chin, sending him flying upward.

Emerald follows immediately, whom Amber reacts to by redirecting a punch for her face and pushing her away with a kick to her leg.

Mercury then approaches once more with a kick, which Amber blocks and follows by moving in on the offensive.

Meanwhile, I watch from behind, joining my blades together to form a bow. I retrieve arrows from the quiver behind me and draw them back.

However, I see Amber turning in my direction with a hate-filled glare. My eyes narrow. If she rushes me now, it would be difficult to land a proper hit.

But before she can move, Amber is interrupted by a hand slapping her in the opposite direction as Jack yanks her by the neck up to meet his face.

Jack then releases an inhumanly loud and bloodcurling scream from his lungs, which rings out through the entire field, startling even Mercury and Emerald. I look closer and I see that Amber's face is completely pale and she is breathing with rapid gasps with nothing but fear written on her face.

Jack smiles, then he takes the knife and begins cutting into her auraless body, and soon enough, her arms and legs hang limply from her beaten body.

Unable to move or fight back, Amber can only scream in pain and agony as Jack jams the knife into her torso, preventing her from fighting back against the four of them.

Emerald and Mercury walk up to the young Maiden and hoist her up by her broken limbs, dangling uselessly from their joints. The woman is now sobbing weakly, her wet tears accompanied by blood trickling from her lips and short gasps of air escaping her throat.

Jack stomps a boot against her back, causing her head to jerk upwards to face me as I smile down on the poor girl. I then turn to Jack and nod to him as I slip on the glove. He does the same to me and he rolls up a sleeve from his coat.

A small insectoid Grimm emerges from inside, crawling onto his hand and slithering along his fingers like a pet. A rather disgusting and revolting pet, that is.

Extending his hand to mine, the insect scuttles onto my arm, then onto the glyph on the palm of the glove.

Jack grips the woman by her hair and holds her head in place as he yanks his knife from her body, causing her to cry out once more in pain as her blood spilt on the ground beside her.

Now that Jack had his fun, I get down to business. I hold out my palm in front of Amber's face, causing the tiny Grimm's eyes to glow red as it squeaked in response to the young Maiden's presence.

Amber's eyes widen in horror once she realizes what's about to happen to her.

"…please don-!" Amber whimpers in terror, but before she can beg for her life, a web of dark matter splatters onto Amber's face, burning into her skin as she yells out in absolute pain and agony.

Her visible eye twitches and flares with the Maiden's power, before the same glow, rises up the Grimm's tendrils and into my own body.

Yes…

I can feel it…

The power burns and grows inside me, roaring like a powerful flame. As the light leaves her eyes, I can feel my own body radiating with the power of the Maidens.

I feel the power fill my soul, rising in volume by the second as I watch her eyes close weakly.

However, I flinch once I hear the screech of a hawk.

Leaping backward, I barely dodge the swing of a sword, severing the connection and abruptly cutting off the sensation of the power entering my body.

He swings backward at Jack, Emerald, and Mercury, causing them to leap back and run, and leaving him to hold the unconscious Amber in his arms. I glare at the opponent in front of me and I see _him_.

His hair tied back into a small ponytail, scars over his rugged face and a heavy black and red coat resting on his person. In his hands, he gripped a sword and a dagger, and his eyes were fixed on none other than me.

Using my newfound power, I raise my arms as my uncovered eye flares with ethereal energy. The heat over my face hazes over, hiding my identity from the Hunter as I open my palms and cast a glyph beneath the man.

But within an instinct, the man reacts, dropping Amber to the side and leaping towards me with his blades drawn.

He swipes at me with absurd speed, but I don't have time for a battle with him. Not now. So as he swings for my neck, I slam my palms into the ground, causing a massive explosion to blow apart the road.

Like hell this would kill him, but it worked as a quick getaway. As he was distracted, I ran to join my colleagues. We would fight another day, once I am whole.

* * *

" **Do you have any idea what we're risking here?!"**

" **Hush. We don't need to worry about him."**

" **The Hunter will not stop chasing you once he has your trail. You know that."**

" **Let him come. I'll watch him burn once we meet again."**

" **The Hunter severed the connection before it was complete."**

" **Yes. It's… an emptiness… it burns… like hunger. I like it…"**

" **Yes. I will claim what is ours."**

" **Thank you…"**

* * *

It was astonishing. This power.

I stand at the camp, where I once would have been reluctant to strike first. But now… I wonder what exactly I was afraid of.

Animals bark left and right, tickling me with their petty toys and traps. They would not touch me. I swiped my hand, and one of them fell lifelessly.

I fling a fireball in another direction and two more drop to the ground in smoke. I stomp a foot on the ground, and blasts of fire erupt from the ground, scorching tents to a crisp and sending faunus left and right flying.

It almost made me laugh at how much higher I have ascended above them all. I might as could might as well be God himself.

Eventually, the pack leader emerged from his tent, brandishing his weapon to fight off the intruders, but his angry face then fell apart once he looked around him at the destruction we had wreaked on his followers.

I looked directly at his face and I saw his fear. It filled me with satisfaction. But I was here to finish what was started.

"We could have gone to anyone for help, and yet we chose you, Adam Taurus."

I drop my blades on the ground. Not like I need the clunky things anymore.

"This plan will be beneficial for both of us…"

In a flex of my new powers, I raise a palm and will the energy to flow through my arm once more as flames rise from the ground before Adam, leading him to leap back in fear.

"…or one of us."

"So then…"

I look at Adam in the eye, his expression much more compliant than when I last visited him, then I make my move. After all, what could a mere dog do in the face of a god?

"…do we have a deal?"

* * *

 **Present day…**

 **"And that's the second round! Yang Xiao Long wins!"**

 **"Yeah! That's how you do it, Sis!"**

 **"There's not gonna be a next time, Blondie…"**

" **What the hell is wrong with you?!"**

* * *

I watched the girl stand in horror and confusion as Mercury writhed on the ground, cradling his leg.

Emerald was playing her role perfectly, holding him in her arms and pleading for help. I spot the paramedics arrive and examine Mercury and his wound.

They spot the flesh and blood on Mercury's wound and then hoist him up on the stretcher as Yang looks on, unable to react to the events transpiring before her.

The girl desperately protests that Mercury attacked her first, only to be met by the hostility of the security guards. Above in the terraces, I spot a student in a top hat on the stairs, restrained by security robots.

"Sir, please return to your seat immediately." The robots urge the man, who furiously retorts, attempting to shake the robots off of him.

"NO! YOU FUCKING IDIOTS! HE'S A LIAR! A FUCKING LIAR, Y'HEAR ME?!"

"Sir, please return to your seat immediately or we will be forced to resort to violence." The robots repeat again, only to be met by Jacob's rage-fueled replies.

"HE'S GOT METAL LE- *YAAAAAAAAAGGHHH!"

But before he could finish, one of the robots slammed a taser into his abdomen, silencing him and knocking him unconscious as he fell down to the ground.

Then I smiled as they took him away, leaving her to complete her plan for the night. Everything was going smoothly.

* * *

 **5 minutes later…**

" **Here! We have an ambulance ready to go!"**

" **Hope they'll be alright. That girl won't leave his side."**

" **We'll take good care of them."**

* * *

The paramedic uniform was at least comfortable, and it fits me rather well, so I wasn't much bothered when I sat in the Airbus descending down to the city.

I heard my subordinates bicker with one another, both of them clearly relieved to drop their charade of close attachment.

"Oh, doc! Tell me! Will I ever walk again?..." Mercury jokes, only to be met with a slap from his partner.

"What?"

"Ugghhhh… headache… one mind I can handle, but two is a stretch…" Emerald groans as she massages her temples in an effort to comfort herself. Using her Semblance on both Yang and the paramedics was a difficult task and an exhausting one, so I couldn't blame her. She did perform rather well after all.

I then turn to Neo, which the petite woman responded by smiling at me.

"Did you do it?"

Neo nodded happily, showing me her scroll, which she had used to control the Atlesian Knights subtly enough to suppress Jacob before he could spill anything.

When Mercury reported that Jacob might have had a leak on us, I knew I couldn't afford the smallest opening. Our little friend was quite clever, albeit annoying to no end.

Jack repeats my thoughts as he rips the disguise from his face, revealing his ghoulish features.

"Calm down, the lot of you. You all performed spectacularly, and now we're almost done. Don't relax just yet. We're just getting to the fun part." Jack grinned sinisterly, causing me to mirror his expression in reaction to his enthusiasm.

"Driver. Take us down. I wanna see what's on the news tonight."

Neo silently smirked in reply to the Grimm-like man and flew back down into the city.

* * *

" **A terrible tragedy took place tonight during the one-on-one rounds of the Vytal Festival Tournament. Reports declare tha-"**

 **"-dent Yang Xiao Long indiscriminately attacks fallen opponent Mercury Black** _ **following**_ **her victory against him in the fina-"**

" **-ry Black suffered from a fracture in his right leg, and it is unknown how long with will affect his performance as a combat stu-"**

" **-espite Atlas reinforcements, local authorities are still calling on the aid of any available Huntsmen to aid in suppressing the spike in Grimm activit-***

* * *

I walk in the room to find Mercury repairing his prosthetic leg with a screwdriver as he sat back in a chair with said leg propped up on the table, grumbling to Emerald, who switched off the TV.

I watched them bicker back and forth, resulting in Emerald twisting the screwdriver on his leg, causing him to wince in pain.

"Arghh! Too tight!"

I sigh with a smile on my face as I addressed my subordinates. "Quiet. Both of you."

"Our Mercury put on a magnificent show. He was quite brave." I say softly, satisfied that we had pulled through to this point. What happens next, would be the point of no return and I would be lying to say I wasn't at least excited.

"So what now?" Emerald asks me curiously.

I almost reply, when Jack steps in. "You, Cindy and I will make sure the next match runs just as smoothly as tonight's."

I frown at Jack's obnoxious nickname, but he ignores my reaction and points to Mercury.

"You… get to stay here. Wouldn't want this all to blow over when someone spots you up and kicking, am I right?" He tells him.

"Can do." Mercury sneers as he continues to work at his robotic leg.

Emerald moves to her quarters, and Jack and I are left alone.

I began to move to my own quarters when Jack grabs my hand before I can leave. Flinching at the sudden contact, I turn to him and glare directly into his eyes.

A split-second later, a knife's blade tickles my throat as I hold his hands back. We are stuck in a familiar position, with Jack holding his knife against me, with his other hand above me. His monster-like face is inches from mine, and his blackened eyes bore deep into mine as his lips curl up and part to reveal his sharklike grin.

My back is against a stack of crates and we are in a dimly-lit area of the warehouse. I can smell the stench of his breath and the strange heat rising from the proximity of his body. However, while we're both sweating, our eyes hold no desire, only hatred, malice and oddly enough, mutual respect.

"I've been thinking…" He breathes, causing my nose to wrinkle.

"Why are you even doing this?" He asks me, leading my eyebrow to rise.

"Why bother asking?" I reply with a playful grin, playing his stupid game.

"There's one other thing I've come to love about killing… Ever seen a man on Death's Door? Until then, they live lies. Nobody will know the truth. Their sins, their secrets, their desires. A man reveals who they really are, once they have no more time left. So tell me, Cinder Fall…"

I look at him directly in the eye as he asks me the question. I don't shake, and neither does he. I almost find it respectable.

"Who are you?"

In reply, I say nothing as my lips curl upwards into a sultry smile. My eyes then glow with radiance, and my hands glow red-hot. Against my palms, his flesh begins to smoke up and burn, but aside from a twitch in his eye, he displays no pain and glares directly down at my face.

"Oh Jack, darling… Do I look like I give a damn anymore?"

Jack's eyes quirk in confusion, and then he begins to laugh quietly as he removes his arms from mine. I smile back and laugh a bit myself. In hysteria, lunacy or simple levity, I don't know why.

He then calms down and slips the knife back into his jacket. Then he looks back at me with a grin.

"Cinder Fall, I will never understand you. Maybe one of these days… you'll tell me." He chuckles darkly before walking off into the darkness, pulling his mask back over his face.

I'm alone in the dark now, with nothing but the flame in my hand to illuminate the darkness as I stare back at the killer, pondering his words.

Why was I here?

What did I want to achieve?

I know what I want, and I'll have it once this week is done. An animal like him wouldn't understand me, and once I'm done, I won't have to care about who I was before.

I am strong.

I am feared.

I am Cinder Fall, and I have become powerful.

* * *

 **Up next: The Assassins make their move!**

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this little chapter from Cinder's POV! I hope to finish Volume 3 pretty soon, and I hope you all can stick by me! Thanks for all the support you've given me and I hope to keep going! As always, leave a review to tell me what you think and I'll respond in the next chapter, and I'll see you… next time!**

* * *

 **merendinoemiliano: Yeah Sun deserves more respect imo. I mean, he did get into the finals in the Tournament.**

 **Johnny Spectre: That does sound interesting.**

 **Jaqen H'ghar: I will. Eventually. Just bear with me for a little bit longer, please.**

 **Omni warrior: No promises my broski.**

 **The Hidden One: Makes sense. Although I do think I have an idea for what to do for Pyrrha now.**

 **CT7567Rules: You are perceptive, buddy. I like that!**

 **Guest: Alright, I admit it. I haven't given this story what it could have been, and I do regret some decisions made when I began. This is my first story, and I didn't know better then, much less now. Hopefully you can bear with me for just a little longer. I have plans for this story and I pray I can see them through properly.**

 **CreepingZombie: Thanks! Possibly, but I just don't know how to write him in yet.**

 **Guest: I think I have an idea for Pyrrha now… be patient.**

 **Guill Phillmore: Yep, he does.**

 **Nothing is True: Hey, in a way, both of you are right. This fic is a shameless rehash and I wished I took it in another direction while I had a chance. But this is why I plan to change things up by the time this volume is through.**


	33. The Final Sunset

**Team ACEE's Dorm, Beacon Academy**

"For the last time Edward…" Altaïr sternly said to his angered teammate with a palm on his forehead, who was seated on his bed with a hunch and not the most stable state of mind.

"Come on, man! Listen to me for once!" Edward yelled at his stoic teammate, who did not flinch at his outbursts at all, with nothing but a disconsolate expression on his face.

"Edward…" Connor muttered, attempting to calm his relative down, but to no avail as he only seemed to rise in anger.

"No! You know what happened! You all did!" Edward barked, only for Ezio to stand and grab him by the shoulders.

"EXACTLY! But what do you really know?!" He retaliated with equal force, leaving the tired Edward to breathe in exhaustion.

What happened the night before had shocked the world and the staff and students of Beacon most of all. When Yang Xiao Long had lashed out at Mercury Black following her Finals match with him, the members of Team RWBY and Team ACEE were all there, watching it unfold before their eyes.

They could not believe what they saw, nor could they explain why or how it happened. Jacob was present as well and was noticeably more riled up than others, leading to him taking the brunt of a police-issued taser at full power.

Unconscious since that night, Jacob was now confined to his team dorms for the remainder of the day for resisting against Atlesian security, but Yang received a less favourable sentence for her actions.

Until further notice, the young brawler was placed under house arrest in her team dorm, prohibited from leaving under any circumstances without permission from the security outside her dorm.

Ruby was heartbroken, understandably. To think her sister would be punished for something she'd never do, that was something she did not deserve at all, and the rest of Team RWBY felt the same.

Edward on the other hand, didn't take lightly to this either. He had quite a unique relationship with the blonde firecracker, one involving plenty of snide and suggestive comments clashing their brash and mischievous personalities. Edward wouldn't describe this as a firm attachment for her, not yet at least, but he still trusted her too much to believe Yang would do this from her own volition.

Altaïr icily reprimanded Edward for placing his emotions ahead of the mission, but right now, Edward could not care less about his damn Creed, when one of his close friends was being punished for something he knew she wouldn't do.

"She wouldn't just take a punch at him. Not after she'd won. You know that, right?" Edward asked the remainder of his team, all of who stood silently in response.

"Of course we do. That's what we want to believe, after all." Altaïr replied indifferently, causing Edward to send an annoyed glare his way.

But then the hooded man continued. "But then again, you are correct. Yang has not been violent without a good reason, and as far as I was able to observe, Mercury didn't make the grave mistake of damaging her hair, which would perfectly justify her reaction." Altaïr muttered to himself, leading the Edward and Ezio to look at him with a deadpan expression.

" _So serious…_ " They both muttered inwardly.

"But the point still stands. Why would Yang act that way?" Ezio asked the rest of his team, leading to Connor tapping a finger to his chin as he searched his memories of the night for possible answers.

"Well, after punching him, Yang immediately insisted that Mercury was the first to attack her and that she was acting in self-defence. Not the kind of reaction from a bad sport." Connor pondered, leading the other Assassin's eyes to widen.

"You think she was hallucinating? If that's the case, then our targets must be behind this." Ezio said, flicking out his hidden blade and gazing at the light reflecting off it.

"Right. This reaction would be far too convenient to be a coincidence. So what do you think happened?" Edward muttered.

Altaïr then spoke up, his head ducked in a position of deep thought. "There could be many causes. She could have been poisoned, drugged. A hypnotic trigger, perhaps? Possibly even one of our enemies' Semblances."

But it was then that Connor stepped in to interrupt his teammates. "Hold on for a second. If that's the case, then it could be anybody. We still don't have any ties to the culprit, and finding them would be far too difficult without any connections to them."

Edward sighed under his breath, but then remembered something else from that night. "Hey… why did you think Jacob flared up back there?"

It was then that the three other Assassins turned their heads his way in interest. "Keep talking," Altaïr said to him.

"He was yelling angrily once it happened, but before he could get anything out, he was put down by security." He explained, remembering how their dapper friend had acted that night.

"When Jacob wakes, we will have our answers. Then we end this, my brothers." Altaïr declared to the rest of his team as he stood up on his feet, along with Ezio, Connor and Edward.

The four of them then stood in a circle, all of them holding out a hand with their hidden blade extended, with all four blades meeting at the centre. Each blade slightly different in design, but unanimously unique. Something of a team handshake amongst the Assassins.

"Right… So what happens now?" The Florentine Assassin asked the rest of his team.

Altaïr's lips curled into a small grin, then he answered. "Prepare yourselves for tonight. In the meantime, be free to go about your business."

With this, the four Assassins then dispersed. Altaïr sat back on his desk, picking up a pen and writing in a report to send back to the Mentor. The rest of the Assassins then exited the dorm and walked out into the hallway.

"So what're you all up to now?" Edward asked his teammates.

Ezio paused for a second, but then his eyes brightened as he answered. "I think I'll visit Jacob's team. If Jacob knows what's going on, I'll get it out of him."

Connor was second to answer. "I'm looking for Arno."

Edward's brow quirked once he heard this. "Frenchy? Why him?"

Connor sighed as he explained. "His Semblance. Seeing things from Yang's own memories might bring us closer to the culprit. What will you be doing?"

Edward paused for a second, before reluctantly giving his reply. "I… was thinking of going to get a drink or something, get my mind off of this shit…"

It was Ezio's turn to sigh this time. "Edward… come on. She'd want to see you. Just drop by for a minute. I'm sure it'll make her feel better."

"Bu-"

"No buts, _fratello_. I wouldn't lie to you about these things. Trust me." Ezio sternly reprimanded him, leading Edward's face to twist with confusion.

Edward stood silently as he stared at his womanizing friend, then scoffed with a smirk on his face. "Fine, then. Have it your way, Casanova."

* * *

 **Team RWBY's Dorm, Beacon Academy**

The air was filled with grim silence between the five individuals in the room, four of them barely saying a word, yet they could still feel the emotions silently building between them, threatening to spill catastrophically.

Haytham Kenway stood before all four members of Team RWBY, all of whom were seated in their bunks on their respective sides of the room. The commander could sense their distress and anxiety, and he fully understood why this was so.

The events of the night before had shaken Remnant to the core, as everyone who was watching the Vytal Festival that night had seen a girl cripple her beaten and defenceless opponent, and tensions were high all across the kingdoms.

Sitting before him was that very girl, bearing a very regretful expression on her usually sunny face. Her eyes were darker than normal, and her posture was slumped over in despair. Haytham certainly hadn't expected the girl to act so resentfully of her actions, much to the point that she claimed that she was acting in self-defence.

While the rest of the council had dismissed this as a result of stress and fatigue, Haytham and other certain individuals secretly knew better. Whatever was coming, the final preparations were being made as they spoke.

Haytham also knew that if they were to end this threat, they had to do what they did best to resolve it: work in the shadows to remove the guns before they fired into the crowd. As much as it pained him to remain quiet, he had to focus on the mission.

As he waved off these thoughts, Haytham then cleared his throat with a cough as he addressed the girls.

"Ms. Xiao Long, as much as I regret to say this, I'm terribly sorry to say that we've been left with no choice." He said to the girl, only for her to stand up from her bunk and glare at him.

"But he attacked me! I swear, he attacked me first!" Yang insisted angrily, to which the tricone-wearing man replied with nothing but silence and a blank expression.

"Video footage and millions of witnesses testify otherwise. My apologies, Yang. I'm positive your teachers and peers have absolute faith in you, but we currently have no proof to testify your innocence in the matter." Haytham explained, receiving Yang's distraught expression in reply. While he was merely stating the facts, he couldn't help but mentally punch himself for not being able to change them. His orders were firm, and he would stick by them, even if they meant hurting someone else.

"But Yang would never do that!" He heard Weiss protest loudly, in a manner he hadn't fully expected from someone such as herself.

"Yeah!" Ruby jumped in with agreement, in support of her beloved sister.

Haytham sighed. He didn't want to do this, but the General had to settle matters with the rest of the Council, much less the Parliament of Crosses. The rest of the Templar Order was never as tightly knitted as they'd initially admit, but the notion of allowing the Assassins to complete the job still did not sit well with certain traditionalists of the order.

Starrick's hold on his own men had been questionable to begin with, considering one of his own men would leave them for Salem, Shay was barely taking a side anymore, and Cesare himself was beginning to consider going through with his plan of storming Beacon and interrogating each and every student in the campus.

Haytham silently prayed that his family would be able to hold him back, but for the moment, he spoke to Team RWBY.

"Yang, Ruby, Weiss… you all appear to be exemplary students, and I am confident that your teachers and fellow student wholeheartedly believe that you would never lash out the way you did… under normal circumstances."

All of Team RWBY's eyes widened in disbelief and despair once Yang began to shake in place. Haytham sighed to himself and continued.

"The staff at Beacon have concluded that this might be the result of stress and adrenaline. On the battlefield, your judgment can be clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there, even long after the battle is finished. It changes people in… surreal ways." Haytham noted, gazing out of the window to spot a hawk circling above the school.

"B-but I was-" Yang attempted to sputter out a protest before Haytham raised his hand at her beckoning her to stop as he glared directly at her.

"Stop. Please, stop. No matter what happened, whether it was an accident or not, the world saw what happened and have already drawn their own conclusions. It pains me to say this, Yang, but… you've been disqualified from the Vytal Festival Tournament. I'm sorry." Haytham informed them, feeling his throat attempt to cough back in the terrible news as he watched Yang's face sink in despair.

"Yang, understand that you are not allowed to leave your dorm under any circumstances, and if there's anything that you need, be aware that your team will be one call away," Haytham said to Yang as he turned to the door, taking his leave as the door clicked behind him, leaving the four girls to their own devices.

Once he was gone, Yang turned to her teammates, her smile absent from her face. "You guys believe me… right?"

Almost immediately, Ruby spoke up in support of her elder sibling. "Duh!"

"You're hotheaded, but not ruthless." Weiss chimed in, offering her own opinion.

However, the room grew quiet, and the air became tense once they realized their remaining member wasn't speaking up, but rather, sitting with her legs curled up on the bed, her face cast over by her bangs as she wore a solemn expression on her features.

"Blake?..." Yang consulted her faunus partner, who still said nothing, leading Ruby and Weiss to exchange worried looks.

"I… want to believe you…" Blake meekly muttered out.

The rest of Team RWBY was taken aback by this response. Ruby's eyes were wide with disbelief as she held her hands over her mouth in surprise.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Weiss reacted with outrage, glaring at her black-haired friend.

Yang's eyes widened in shock, feeling droplets of tears rolling down her cheeks as she heard her teammate's distrustful words. Did Blake really not believe in her?

"B-Blake?..." Yang choked out amidst her tears, pleading for an answer to her response.

When Blake only responded with more silence, Weiss stood up from her bunk to defend her blonde teammate, glaring furiously at Blake.

"How could you say something like that?! Yang would never lie to us!"

Blake returned Weiss's glance, before sighing to herself as her own eyes began to glaze over in distress, opening her mouth to share her thoughts to the rest of Team RWBY.

"I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant; it was gradual. Little choices that began to pile up. At first, he told me not to worry. First, he insisted they were accidents, then it was self-defence, and before long, I guess I fully believed he was in the right. I'm sorry… but I can't help but feel this is all very… familiar…"

Blake shuddered as she spoke the words herself, remembering his smile, how it used to comfort her and fill her with confidence, now it only brought her nightmares and regret. She then looked up at her distraught partner, and she saw nothing of him in her. Keeping this in mind, she took a deep breath and managed a smile.

"…but you're not him. You'll never be. You've never done anything like this before for as long as I've known you. So… I want to trust you. I _will_ trust you, Yang."

Yang dried her eyes, still sniffling from earlier as she looked back up to her teammate with a small glimmer of hope amongst her sorrowful face.

"But first, I need you to look me in the eye and tell me that _he attacked you first_. I need you to promise me that you regretted what you did."

Yang stared back at her partner, whose golden eyes pierced right through hers, demanding the answer from her very soul, with nothing but the truth.

Without a second thought, she wore her heart on her sleeve. "I saw him attack me, so I attacked back."

Blake blinked once, and the entire room was filled once more with silence. Then Blake closed her eyes, heaved in a deep breath and let out a content sigh of relief.

"Alright. I trust you. Thanks, Yang." Blake then replied, with a grateful smile on her face, leading Yang's own lips to curl upwards.

Yang smiled at her faunus friend. Even if she wasn't the brightest ray of sunshine in Beacon, Yang knew her much better than most people in the school, even among her other teammates. Blake was a dear friend, and they could always count on each other when they were dealing with their own problems.

Yang looked back at the school dance, remembering how she and Edward had helped her when she was overworking herself during their "investigation". Had the two of them stood aside and done nothing, there was no telling what she would've done to herself.

Then, she thought of Edward and the rest of his team and all they had done throughout their time knowing one another. While they were certainly unique in their own way, she couldn't help but feel how different they were as a group from any other person she had met before.

Altaïr had been a massive help alongside Pyrrha to boost Jaune's confidence, and along with Ezio and Arno, he had grown rather close to her sister and even helped keep her in line for Yang when she couldn't be there for her.

Connor had quite possibly the only person other than her and Sun to be that close to her best friend and partner. The two of them shared a very close bond, nearing that of a brother caring for his sister. In fact, Yang would not be surprised in the slightest if they were indeed shared blood ties. She deeply respected Connor for his chivalrous heart, even if he was as dense as a block of lead, and she was happy that Blake had a friend such as him.

And then there was Edward Kenway. Yang couldn't quite place what position their relationship was at, no matter how hard she thought about it. She felt _something_ whenever he was around, although she was not certain if these feelings truly were romantic. Not yet, at least.

The boy was vulgar, boisterous, and downright psychotic if he wanted to be, and those qualities alone made him the brightest ray of hilarity every day in Beacon. Yang remembered their first meeting, then their time "investigating", and then the day he had asked her out to the school dance.

Edward was _something_ to her, and as much as she'd rather dismiss it as a unique friendship, one that had brought her laughter and companionship, she could not deny that he had potential to be something a little bit more if they walked a bit further down this winding road.

For now, though, all she wanted was time to think in privacy, which her teammates were quick to provide.

* * *

 **Team JNPR's Dorm, Beacon Academy**

Weiss took two steps outside the dorm, walking out the doorway behind Blake and Ruby, but not before turning her head and staring back at her normally cheerful and caring teammate.

Yang's posture was weak and depressed, her shoulders slumped and her face cast over by her long hair, no longer shining with the same sunny glow as always.

Weiss remembered all Yang had done for them as both a teammate and a sister. Ruby may have had the only blood she shared within the team, but Yang had shared her love among the rest of them, giving Weiss a second sister she never had, reminding her of the days before Winter left the manor.

Weiss was eternally grateful to have the blonde brawler as a sister in arms and as a dear friend, but right now, Yang was hitting rock bottom and all of Beacon was affected by this, especially Weiss and her team.

Weiss looked back one more time with her hand on the door and reluctantly pulled it shut, leaving Yang alone.

Weiss let out an exhausted sigh, before placing a palm against her sweaty forehead, trying to make sense of this entire dilemma.

How could this have happened? Why did it have to happen? What reason would anyone have to do this to her friend?

Weiss's head filled with questions, fogging her mind with confusion and disorientation, watching the downcast expressions written on the faces of her fellow teammates.

"This is a mess…"

Then the subtle noise of a door creaking open caught her attention, causing all three of their heads to turn to notice Jaune peering from his dorm, the rest of Team JNPR inside and leaning in closer toward the door.

"She doing okay?" Jaune asked, concerned for their dear friend as the rest of his team gravitated closer, desiring an answer from Team RWBY.

"She's doing the best she can. She's strong. I'm sure she'll find a way." Blake answered Jaune, causing him to nod considerately.

Ruby then piped up as well. "I-I heard Mercury and his team flew back to Haven to be with his family! Until they land, I guess we can't ask him about what happened."

"Yeah. I know Yang didn't mean it, but I hope he's alright." Nora softly added with an awkward smile.

The others silently nodded in agreement. While they were at least on relatively good terms with his teammate Emerald, none of them had properly gotten to know Mercury. Sure, he spent time around the campus but much like the rest of his team, he was very reserved and didn't converse with his fellow huntsmen and huntresses-in-training.

Of course, they felt sorry for him that night for what he had gone through, but all they could do was hope Mercury wouldn't hold this accident against Yang. She would never do something like this to someone like him. After all, they knew her too well to doubt her.

"If there's anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask. We're always available for a friend." Ren calmly added with a warm smile.

The members of Team RWBY took his considerate words to heart and nodded in thanks. Ruby then turned to the oddly silent Pyrrha, seated on her bed without saying a word.

"Pyrrha?"

The redheaded warrior perked up once she heard her name being called out, crossing her bright emerald eyes with Ruby's wide and shining silver.

"Be sure to win one for Beacon, alright?" Ruby said encouragingly, striking both thumbs up with an attempted grin.

"It's what Yang would want. You can't rely on Ezio for everything." Weiss added with a smile of her own.

Pyrrha remained silent for a minute, not saying a word as her eyes remained hidden from the girls. A second later, she flashed a confident smile at them.

"I'll… do my best!" Pyrrha gleamed, silently smacking herself for letting her voice falter for a split-second, but thankful that at least Team RWBY didn't seem to notice.

The young Ruby nodded, not seeming to notice Pyrrha's hesitation. "I'll be sure to watch tonight in case you're picked!"

With that, the members of Team RWBY left the room and closed the door behind them, not noticing Pyrrha's face beginning to sink once again as she exited their sight.

With that out of the way, Blake let out an exhausted sigh as she faced the two remaining members of her team. These past few days have been a huge rush for them all, and now Blake just wanted to loosen up again.

"Y'know, I think I've had enough fighting for one year." Blake sighed.

In reply, Weiss nodded with a quiet hum. "Ditto. How 'bout we head down to the fair? Want coffee?" Weiss offered her faunus teammate.

"Tea," Blake replied with a smile as she followed Weiss down the hallway to leave the campus, with Ruby in tow.

As they left the hallway, Team JNPR was still in their dorm, with Pyrrha still anxious as ever while sitting on her bed, awaiting the big fight she would be having in unforeseen time.

Pyrrha was disconsolate and withdrawn, not the same girl she was when she first joined. Many things ran through her mind as she sat, memories of the huge epiphany her teachers had given her in the day before, and the pressure weighed on her once one of her school's finalists and best friends was knocked out by disqualification.

Needless to say, she wa-

"YOU HEARD THE LADY!"

Pyrrha almost yelped out loud from shock once she was snapped out of her trance by Nora, who was inches from her face and flashing a crazed grin at her.

"NO MORE MOPING AROUND!"

Pyrrha watched as Nora zipped to the other side of the room. Blinking once, all of a sudden, Nora was fully dressed in gym wear, with pink sweatbands, small gym shorts, and a white shirt with her signature symbol printed on it.

Normally, she'd be stupefied out of her wits by Nora's antics, but spending near the length of a year with the bubbly little demolition expert had allowed her to get somewhat used to her outbursts.

Pointing a finger at the warrior girl, Nora flashed another electrifying grin at her teammate. "We've gotta get your butt in shape for the big fight!"

"It could be today! It could be tomorrow!" She chirped as she started performing jumping-jacks, push-ups, jogs and other exercises, rapidly changing her routine by the seconds.

"IT COULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGHT OF YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!" All of a sudden Nora was holding a 2000-pound barbell, easily heaving it above her head with her dainty hands as she yelled, but not before straining under the massive weight and collapsing to the floor in a heap.

Pyrrha was at a loss for words after the loud display in front of her, as anybody would, but not without a small smile on her face. Nora had never failed to bring a smile to her face, after all.

"Nora's right."

Pyrrha then turned to her left to see Ren standing calmly with his hands behind his back, wearing a pink apron over his green combat attire, with the words, "PLEASE DO NOTHING TO THE COOK" printed on the apron.

Pyrrha could only guess the story behind that odd design choice.

"You can't let your concern from Yang hold you back. You need to focus. We can't have Ezio defending the honor of Beacon Academy alone." Ren said to Pyrrha, who nodded softly in response.

"O-of course… I-"

"This blend of herbs and vegetables is _filled_ with nutrients vital to your body's well-being."

Pyrrha blinked in confusion, noticing the glass Ren was holding in front of her face. Peering into the glass, she could see that it was filled with a strange green concoction, bubbling rather loudly.

"Oh, that's…-" Pyrrha managed to stammer out as she stared at the moldy sludge bubbling and churning in the glass, trying not to look green herself.

"Please, there's no need to thank me for looking out for my friend's physical health." Ren gleamed proudly, only for Nora to wince in disgust once she saw the drink in her partner's hand.

"Thank you? Ugh! That looks like slime from a lakebed!" Nora gagged with displeasure.

"And what's wrong with that? Algae contains numerous spectacular properties." Ren blankly replied, holding the glass closer.

"YOU'RE NOT DENYING IT?!" Nora practically yelled out loud at her partner, who didn't flinch from her outburst and instead held the drink to her face.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Ren asked, tipping the glass against her lips, allowing her to gulp down a sip of the liquid.

"BLEGH!"

The second the mixture touched her tongue, Nora's face turned just as green as the drink as she immediately ran to the nearest trash can, hunching over the top and hurling the disgusting smoothie back out into the bin.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Nora yelled at her childhood friend as she raised her head from the bin.

"Me? You're the one who wasted perfectly good juice." Ren calmly replied, not fazed at all by his partner's extreme reaction.

"We're supposed to _help_ Pyrrha, not _poison_ her!" Nora yelled back.

"There was absolutely nothing wrong with this blend. I made sure of it."

"If it looks the same going up and it does going down then there's something _wrong_!"

Staring at Nora and Ren arguing back and forth, Pyrrha couldn't help but smile and giggle to herself as she watched the both of them. They were both trying to help her in their own way, and she was deeply touched by their efforts. Their hilarious banter helped even more, bringing her laughter as she watched the both of them argue.

A moment later, the door swung open to reveal none other than her team leader and partner in arms and in heart, Jaune Arc as he noticed Nora and Ren bickering with one another, rushing in to try to diffuse the situation.

"Hey, why don't we get some fresh air before tonight? Pyrrha?" Jaune suggested, directing a kindly smile towards his partner, who smiled back at him.

They had gone through much together, from initiation, through sparring nights up until that incredible night singing together at the school dance, and they couldn't be happier for what had come out of it.

Pyrrha was happy whenever Jaune was with her, and that was why for the first time since she left the vault below the school, her smile was pure and genuine.

* * *

 **Team JAAE's Dorm, Beacon Academy**

Adéwalé stood outside his dorm room, nodding his head down in deep thought as Evie tended to her unconscious twin brother inside.

Adé normally considered himself a calm person, but the events of the night before had even him feeling more stressed than normal. The Assassins were too late in their action, and now innocent bystanders were being involved. At this rate, nobody would be safe if they failed a second time, whenever it would come.

Right now, Team JAAE was also a victim. Yang's arrest caused Jacob to respond rather violently, more so than Adé had ever seen him. The security had incapacitated and sedated him to subdue him before he could lash out any more, and this only made it harder for the others to find any information from him until he wakes up.

"Hey, Adéwalé!"

Adéwalé looked up from his thoughts and found himself looking at a large man wearing a winter coat walking down the hallway towards him with a girl behind him, her face shaded by a hood.

"Nikolai! What is the matter?" Adé greeted him with a handshake.

Nikolai's face then turned and hardened as the air between them became more serious. "I believe we have a few leads."

Turning his face to the girl, Adé quirked a brow as he questioned his fellow Assassin. "Whatever do you mean, brother?"

Nikolai then smirked and turned to Shao Jun standing beside him, who lowered her hood to reveal her short black hair as she directed her stare towards the ram faunus.

"I saw Mercury and Emerald before they transferred to the school. They were involved in the attempted murder of Tukson Panthera."

Adé's eyes widened with a gasp. As he was about to utter a reply, the loud banging of furniture could be heard from the inside of the dorm room behind them.

"AAAAAAAGGGHHHH!"

"Jacob! Calm down, ya bloody idiot!"

The trio stood silently in surprise, before Adé broke the silence moments later. "Well, I believe we can a second to the pile."

* * *

 **Team RWBY's Dorm, Beacon Academy**

Yang stood silently on her bunk, not paying mind to the whistle of wind breezing through her dorm window, or the faint rustle of autumn leaves outside as she sat alone, thinking to herself.

Looking out the door, she could spot Team JNPR walking outside, likely on their way to the fair. She smiled, but only for a brief second. There was too much on her mind right now.

What happened? How could this happen? Why her? Why did she do it?

She had ensured Blake that she saw him attack her, and she believed that it happened, but soon she was beginning to doubt her own judgment. She was sure Mercury hadn't done anything to deserve it, and even if he did, she wouldn't do that in front of thousands of people.

Her teachers had doubted her, her reputation in shambles, and now she couldn't prove herself anymore. She was out. Disqualified. Eliminated from the competition. She had lost her chance, and she couldn't feel worse.

"Yang."

Startled by the sudden noise calling her name, Yang turned her head to what she assumed to be the empty room, but there he stood.

Messy blonde hair crudely tied back into a small ponytail, white hood, and a face she could only describe as that of a filthy sea dog, Edward Kenway was standing right there, leaning against the wall and smiling at her.

"Hey, Edward." Yang replied, although without the enthusiasm she normally offered.

Edward sighed and walked over opposite his fellow blonde, sitting himself down on Weiss's bunk so that he could meet Yang's gaze.

Yang watched the young man in front of her and aimed a careful glance at his eyes, which were quivering and uneasy, dropping a subtle hint that he was no more comfortable about this situation than she was.

"So… nice weather we have, huh?" Edward offhandedly asked, trying to alleviate the depressing atmosphere between them, although it had little effect on Yang, who barely cracked a smile at him.

Realizing this, Edward sighed as he recollected his thoughts. "Sorry, sorry. It's just… why'd y-"

"If you're here to ask me about what happened that night, then you're not gonna get more than what I already told them." Yang replied, exasperated.

Edward paused and kicked himself mentally. He should've known he couldn't get anywhere with her if he only ever talked to her about the events of last night. It was a sensitive topic, and he had no right to prod her further.

"Right… I'm sorry. I should've thought this over. I'm just… so confused by all this." Edward muttered. What he was saying wasn't false, per se, but he was still determined to get to the bottom of this like his brothers.

"Do you believe me?"

Edward turned to the golden-haired girl before him with a quizzical expression on his face as he slowly leaned forward on his seat.

"Pardon?"

Yang sighed as she repeated her question with clear irritation. "Do you believe me, Edward Kenway?"

Edward paused, instilling eerie silence between the two blondes before Edward sighed himself, uttering out a quiet answer.

"Y-yes. Yes, I do."

Yang was silent, and neither of them broke the silence. One could say it was so quiet, one could hear a pin drop in the distance. But that was when Edward looked up at his friend to find her wiping a knuckle against her eye with a soft sniffle, smearing a small tear on her hand.

Edward didn't know what to do or what to say, so he sat quietly as he gazed at his friend, softly shedding tears as the seconds ticked past between them.

Snapping out of his trance moments later, Edward then reached beside him at the bedside table to grab a small sheet of tissue for Yang, subsequently handing it to her, which she took with a grateful nod, wiping the piece of tissue against her shut eyes and drying her tears.

"A-are you alright?" Edward asked reluctantly.

Yang let out a final sniffle of the nose before muttering a reply. "B-better. Thanks."

Yang composed herself first, drying the last of her tears and choking back her sniffles as she spoke clearly once more. "You aren't the only one to believe me… but I'm sure none of them can explain what I did back there."

"I think I'm going crazy…" Yang muttered quietly, causing Edward to pay closer attention.

"Back on the train… I thought I saw my mom. Her armor… her sword… I saw them in one of Qrow's photos. It can't be, though…"

Yang's face twisted with a mixture of fear and discomfort as she tried harder to suppress her boiling pot of emotions at the moment.

"Yang…"

"Don't!-" Yang immediately cut off Edward with a firm glare as he quieted himself down and let her continue.

"When we were kids… Ruby almost died… b-because of me. Because of my stupid wish and my impossible dream. I-I'm not the elder sibling she deserves."

"I know I'm about as calm and rational as a stick of dynamite, and I know that I've got anger issues. But what if I lose control again? What if I end up hurting the ones closest to me? You?! Without me knowing?!"

"How can I protect people if all I can do is hurt them?!" Yang stammered as she began to quiver in terror.

"YOU DIDN'T DO THIS!"

Edward found himself on his knees in front of Yang and grasping both hands on her shoulders, watching as she began to breathe heavily and her eyes started to briefly transition to their angry red, streaming new streaks of tears down her cheeks.

Not knowing what to do or what to say, nonetheless, Edward spoke his mind.

"No. You didn't do this."

It was now Yang's turn to sit and listen as Edward continued on.

"You think that just because you're blamed for something you weren't responsible for, that you can go ahead and drop out?! You may feel like a failure, but you said it yourself; there are people out there willing to fight for you."

Yang said nothing, breathless as she allowed her tears to flow down her face. Looking in front of her at her friend, she saw his eyes were shaking just like hers.

"My best friend isn't a savage, she isn't a brute, and she isn't a drunken fool. She's better than that. She… deserves… better than that." Edward muttered.

"I'm a liar, a thief, and I there's no way anyone can forgive me for what I've done in my life. But you're not. You never were."

Yang's tears were flowing once more as she looked down at her friend, shaking in his boots as every word he spoke sent his own ego sinking deeper and deeper. Yang also could tell from his stammering words that he meant every single thing that came out his mouth.

"Yang… if you could go back to that moment, you'd do everything you could to stop yourself. That alone shows me how much of a person you are. You're Yang Xiao Long, Beacon's sunny dragon. We couldn't ask for a better friend than you."

"Edward…"

But it was then that Edward's expression glazed over as his eyes became downcast. "I-I don't deserve to tell you this. I've done terrible things. How can I talk to you about these things when I don't deserve forgiveness? The world'll be better off witho-"

It was Yang's turn to make her move, wrapping both her arms around Edward, whose eyes were beginning to wet themselves, wide with confusion.

"Don't you dare say that!..." Yang cried softly into Edward's ear.

"B-bu-"

"No!"

Yang released Edward from her hold and clasped both her hands on Edward's chin, holding his face up to meet her own tear-stained one.

"You're special too. To your team! To us! To me! Don't you realize that?!"

"Y-Yang…"

Yang sighed as she managed a weak smile amidst her tears.

"Dammit, Edward… Don't you remember anything from our time in Beacon? Anything at all?!"

Edward's own mind flashed back to their moments as students from the first days, then to their time finding Blake, the (epic!) food fight, the school dance, and finally, the breach where they fought together.

Edward's memories then flashed back to the first time they met each other at Junior's club, fighting the bouncers together and having one of the best nights in their lives.

"You're a special person to me, Edward Kenway. You're a kind person, no matter how much you can deny it. I'll never forget what you've done for me, and I'll always love you for who you are."

Edward's eyes then burst open in shock at her words. Love? That word was a rarity in his world, and even so, he was never deserving of it. What did he have to his name to receive it? After all the wrongs he had done? All the blood stained on his hands?

"But what do I have to deserve you?"

Yang then choked out a laugh as she pressed her forehead against Edward's feeling his cold sweat against her skin.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. All I need to know... is that I've still got you." Yang uttered with a gentle smile as Edward felt a cold tear trickle down his cheek.

Several seconds passed, and the blonde pair merely held onto each other, spilling out whatever feelings they were bottling up in tearful fits, each moment embracing one another healing their souls more and more.

"I guess we both needed a little healing of our own, didn't we?" Edward muttered with a chuckle, to which Yang let out a small laugh of her own.

"You'd better believe I'd do it a second time if it meant cheering you up." Yang laughed, wiping another tear from her eye.

"What exactly do we have between the two of us, anyway?" Edward asked.

Yang paused at his question, searching within her conflicted feelings as she opened her mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by a sound coming from the open window.

"Yang!"

Yang and Edward both stopped and turned to the window, where a gloved hand grasped at the ledge, causing Yang to stand from her bunk and walk over to the window, offering her hand.

Taking Yang's open hand, Arno Dorian climbed into the dorm, followed by Connor, who was breathing heavily from the climb to the dorm room.

"Thanks, Yang." The faunus Kenway muttered before noticing Edward in the room as well.

"Oh, Edward. Fancy seeing you here." He blankly noted, not noticing Edward's bloodshot eyes from moments ago.

Edward sighed in irritation and turned to his relative with a growl. "What're you two doing here, again?"

Connor said nothing but turned to Arno, who held his fingers to his lips and blew, releasing a loud whistle.

Yang then gasped to see the rest of the Assassins climb through her window and into her dorm. First, Ezio climbed into the room, followed by Altaïr, Adéwalé, Aveline, Henry, Shao Jun, and Nikolai, followed by Evie and the recently awakened Jacob.

The full assembly of 12 Assassins and Yang had fully crowded the room, as three each of the individuals sat on the four respective bunks of the room, leaving Altaïr to stand in the middle of the room.

"What's going on?! What're you all doing here?" Yang asked them, confused.

At first, Altaïr said nothing, directing one of his ice-cold stares at Yang.

"I believe that we have just discovered the identities of those responsible for your accident."

* * *

 **Outside the Cafeteria, Beacon Academy**

Pyrrha sat quietly against the wall as she watched the sun set its fiery orange rays below the horizon. Her body was calm, but her mind was anything but.

Her thoughts were rampant and restless, filled with stress and confliction as she thought over the events of the past few days. With the enemy playing their cards already, Pyrrha's choice had to be made soon, otherwise, the fate of the world would turn for the worse.

Nonetheless, it was all such a heavy burden to bear, and Pyrrha just felt completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of the decision she had to make.

Feeling the autumn breeze tickle her skin and lift her scarlet hair into the wind, Pyrrha watched as a brown maple leaf flew from the treetops and nestled under her hand.

This triggered a flow of emotions in her, and only served to make her more uneasy as she remembered the image of the poor girl in the vault under the school.

How could this have happened? Why did it happen? Why… why her?

"H-hey…"

Pyrrha looked up once a familiar voice approached her, as she looked up at Jaune standing in front of her with a stick of cotton candy in his hand.

"I-it's no green goop, but it should do some good," Jaune muttered, handing the snack to her.

Pausing for a moment, Pyrrha quietly accepted his gift as he sat down beside her. "Um… right… Thank you, Jaune."

However, Jaune's smile faltered slightly once he noticed Pyrrha's mood wasn't changing. Sitting down beside his partner, he could barely make out footsteps around the corner.

Nora had emerged from the corner, Ren in tow hauling a mountain of snacks and won prizes from the fair. Noticing the delicate situation between her remaining team members, Nora quickly grabbed Ren and walked back the way they came.

"Uhh… C-c'mon, Ren! Let's head back to the festival! I'll get you another stuffed animal!"

Noticing the pair leaving them alone, Jaune then let out a sigh as he looked at his partner in the eye.

"You were the first person to believe in me, y'know that?" Jaune muttered with a bitter laugh, causing Pyrrha to turn his way.

"When I told my parents I was moving to Beacon, they told me not to worry if I ever had to move back home. How depressing is that?" Jaune spat with sadness in his tone as his partner whimpered out a reply.

"J-Jaune, I'm sure they didn't-"

Pyrrha never finished her sentence, her eyes widening in surprise as she dropped her cotton candy on the ground, feeling the warmth of a hand placed gently on top of her own.

Pyrrha felt her cheeks heat up, likely until they matched the color of her hair, then turned to lock eyes with her partner.

"L-look… I-I guess… what I'm trying to say is… you've always been there for me… even when I didn't deserve it. And, I can tell if there's something on your mind, so… I don't know… How can I help?" Jaune asked kindly, offering his heart on his sleeve, and Pyrrha could clearly see it. Deeply touched by his words, Pyrrha decided to do the same.

Closing her eyes and letting her heart take the wheel, she let go of her worries and made a move. Leaning to the right, she smiled once she felt her head press against Jaune's shoulder. She felt Jaune quiver from the contact, but he quickly relaxed. Feeling her heart glow a little brighter, Pyrrha was at peace.

"You're already doing it."

The couple sat together in silence, with no words exchanged between the two of them as they rested upon one another, allowing the breeze to blow past them as the ornate sunset warmed their bodies lying against the wall.

A second leaf then glided down from the maple canopies to softly rest against their feet, and all of a sudden, it was gone.

 _The girl. In the vault._

Pyrrha's brow furrowed as her face tightened.

 _I will become your Fall Maiden._

Pyrrha's mind clouded over once more, with her former thoughts rushing in like a chaotic typhoon raging within her brain.

 _Her life will be intertwined with yours, but the real question is if you will emerge from the process as the same person._

"J-Jaune…"

"Hmm?" The blonde knight asked, confused as he noticed Pyrrha's distress returning.

"I don't know what to do."

Pyrrha couldn't take it anymore as the pressure began to push too far. Standing up, Jaune's hand was removed from hers as she stepped away, gazing outwards in despair.

"W-what do you mean?" Jaune prodded, not knowing what was causing this discomfort.

Pyrrha paused, collecting her psyche as she stared outwards into the fading sunlight. "Do you believe in destiny?"

Jaune was taken aback by this question, but nonetheless, he attempted to answer his sorrowful friend. "I-I don't know. I guess that depends on how you view it."

"When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape, but rather… some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life." Pyrrha said, voicing her mind as her lips moved quicker than her own conscience.

Confused by the sudden change in mood, Jaune tried to console with Pyrrha. "O-okay. Uh, yeah. I can see that, sure."

Pyrrha's judgment was then clouded as her own distressed thoughts were being spilt out to Jaune, so quickly that she struggled to find the proper words to voice them. "Well… what would you do if something came along that you… never expected? Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?"

"Like what?"

Pyrrha had completely lost control of her composure by now, feeling stress consume her as she began to spout out everything she had been bottling up since the day she had found out.

"Or what if you could suddenly fulfil your destiny, but at the cost of who you were?!"

Jaune was completely lost, not knowing what to do at all or why Pyrrha was acting this way. Attempting to comfort her, he reached a hand for her shoulder. "P-Pyrrha, you're not making any sense..."

Pyrrha, on the other hand, stepped away from him, holding both hands on her arms in an attempt to hold herself, while her eyes began to water up from her sorrow and despair.

"None of it makes sense! This isn't how things were supposed to happen!"

Jaune was more confused than ever, desperate to find a way to calm her down and tell her she was alright.

"I'm sorry! Please, I-I'm just trying to understand what's wrong."

Pyrrha's tears dried as her eyes glowed once more, while still quivering. "I've always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress, to protect the world, and it's become increasingly clear to me that my feelings were right. But… I don't know if I can do it."

Pyrrha was now looking back in desperation to her partner, who breathed and gave an answer.

"Of course you can. The Pyrrha Nikos I know would never back down from a challenge, and if you really believe it's your destiny to save the world… you can't let anything stand in your way."

 _No…_

Jaune's confident smile faded once he took one look at Pyrrha's change of reaction.

 _Jaune…. No…_

Pyrrha's eyes were wet with tears and shivering in despair. Clasping both hands against her mouth, she began to sob with the most shattered face he had ever seen her make.

 _That's not what I wanted to hear…_

"Pyrrha?"

 _Stop._

"Did I say something wrong?!"

"STOP!"

Pyrrha opened her bloodshot eyes, and to her horror, she had realized her terrible mistake. Her hand was outstretched and coated in a dim, black aura. Looking up at the wall, she saw Jaune firmly smashed against the wall, with his armor glowing with the same aura.

"Jaune!"

Pyrrha immediately stopped her Semblance, causing Jaune to fall back to the ground.

 _What have I done?!_

"I… I'm sorry!..." Pyrrha whimpered as she felt tears return in floods from her eyelids, completely overcome by her regret and her distress.

Jaune then watched in defeat as Pyrrha ran away in her sorrow, leaving him alone as he reached out a hand to call for her. "Pyrrha, wait!"

"What did I say?…"

* * *

 **Team RWBY's Dorm, Beacon Academy**

"Emerald and Mercury's team?"

Yang was bewildered, to say the least. To think that the person she had injured had been setting her up the entire time. It made her anger rise to new volumes as she clenched a fist at the thought of it.

"Yeah. I fought Mercury in the Tournament and cut into his leg with my hidden blade." Jacob explained, standing up and showing off his broken blade as proof.

"He should've been crippled then, but he was perfectly fine, and snapped my blade clean off with his metal legs," Jacob explained further, causing Yang's eyes to bulge out.

"Wait, his legs were METAL?! He was faking it the whole time?!" Yang almost yelled in outrage.

"Yes, but first, we need a real confirmation," Altaïr explained, turning away from Yang and leading her to follow his gaze.

"Arno, if you will?" Altaïr asked, leading the blue-robed Assassin to step forward towards Yang.

Kneeling down in front of her, Arno then held out his hand towards the girl. "Do you mind?"

Yang quirked a brow in confusion but offered her hand nonetheless. Arno then proceeded to flick out his hidden blade and hold it against Yang's finger.

"I apologize, this may sting a bit."

Yang didn't flinch and instead nodded fearlessly. Arno nodded back, and grazed his blade against Yang's fingertip, drawing some blood from the tiny wound.

Arno then entered his mind, feeling his Semblance take effect as he racked through Yang's recent memories for the proper one.

Finding it, he then entered the scene of the conclusion of Yang's fight the night before. He saw Yang wish Mercury luck, before hearing Mercury growl a threat, something nobody had heard that night.

Abruptly turning his head, Arno saw it. Mercury was flying directly at Yang with his foot outstretched, and Yang reacted instantly, driving a fist into his leg with a sickening crack.

Exiting the memory, he woke up to see the others staring at him from their positions throughout the room.

"What did you see?" Edward asked.

Arno's face then steeled as his mood turned serious. "Yang was not lying. She saw Mercury attack her first."

Altaïr scratched his chin based on this new revelation of news, pondering their next course of actions as they gathered more intelligence on the situation and their targets.

"So… Mercury and Emerald arrive from Haven, with no data on their files from before the transfer, they attempt to kill a former White Fang member, Emerald possesses and ability to play on the senses (as reported by Evie, who experienced this firsthand), and Mercury acted as if he was in pain, when he should not have felt any at all."

Altaïr then drew a long breath as he reached his conclusion. "Mercury and Emerald were attempting to discredit Yang by faking an accident, either to antagonize her specifically or to cause unrest among the spectators."

Connor's eyes then lit up. "Millions are watching the Vytal Festival, and this was the best way to spread unrest among so many people at once."

"And negativity will attract Grimm…" Ezio muttered slowly, as the entire group began to connect the dots.

"If they succeed, not even the city's perimeter defenses will be able to fend off the number of Grimm." Evie gasped in horror.

Altaïr then smacked his hand against the other, calling all the Assassins to attention. "Alright! Now we know our targets, and now we must strike. If they are to strike again tonight, we should catch them in the Coliseum during the finals."

"It's a huge gamble, though. If we fail, then we might not be able to preserve the peace we have attained for more than a century." Adé muttered.

"That is why we must strike down our targets tonight," Altaïr replied with a stone expression on his face.

"Brothers, if you may?" Altaïr asked, causing all the Assassins to converge in the centre of the room, excluding a perplexed Yang.

All 12 individuals in the room then stretched out a fist to form a circle, before each extending a hidden blade to meet at the centre as Altaïr began to utter the rite.

"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember…"

"Nothing is true." All of them uttered in unison as Altaïr continued.

"Where other men are limited by morality or law, remember…"

"Everything is permitted." They all spoke together.

"We work in the dark, to serve the light."

"We are Assassins."

* * *

 **Amity Coliseum, Above Beacon Academy**

It was a night at the Coliseum much like the one before, filled to the brim with cheering spectators flooding in and out of the terraces, carrying snacks or posters to show their spirit for their favorite combatants.

Ruby Rose stepped down in an attempt to find her seat, scooching past a mother and her child, and moving out of the way for a faunus man.

However, her eyes began to guide her towards the massive audience, scanning the crowd before finding something that shocked her to the core.

A young girl with chocolate-brown skin sat calmly in her seat, her maroon eyes blank and her posture neat, her short mint-green hair tucked back to allow her eyes to peek through.

"Emerald's… here?!"

That was impossible. Emerald went back with Mercury to Haven. How could she be here, of all places?! It didn't make sense!

Ruby then gasped once she noticed Emerald squinting in her general direction, almost as if she had sensed eyes on her. Moving quickly, Ruby kept her eyes on the girl as she weaved through the crowd.

Finding herself rushing toward the exit, she found a red door labelled, "MAINTENANCE". Checking to see if anybody was watching her, Ruby quickly entered the door and shut it behind her.

Ruby looked around her at the long, silvery hallway. She was inside the Coliseum now, as she heard the muffled noise of the audience cheering around her.

Walking towards the end, she suddenly stopped once a second familiar face emerged from a tunnel, facing menacingly at her.

Her eyes then shot wide open in shock. Mercury Black should be on an Airbus back to Mistral with a broken leg, and yet, here he was right in front of her, walking perfectly fine.

"M-Mercury?... What's going on?" Ruby stammered out her question, completely confused and taken aback.

Suddenly, they were interrupted once the announcers outside began to spin the roulette to decide the fighters for the evening.

"Looks like our first contender is… Penny Polendina from Atlas…" Shaun could be heard declaring to the crowd, resulting in a muffled cheer.

Ruby was still confused, sending a quizzical glance at the boy glaring wickedly at her as the second fighter was announced outside.

"And her opponent will be… Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!"

Ruby paused for a second, but all of a sudden, she realized the terrible truth of what her presumed friend was planning for the both of them.

"No…"

Confirming her assumptions, Mercury only smirked. "Polarity versus metal… That could be bad…"

However, unbeknownst to the both of them, a third person was in the tunnel with them, concealing his presence from both of them with his Semblance, as he silently flicked his right finger up, drawing the small, but razor-sharp blade from under his wrist.

"Assassins, you have your mission: Assassinate Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai."

* * *

 **Next Up: Time for Assassinations!**

 **Has it really been two months?! Holy shit! Sorry, sorry, sorry a million times over! I've been terrible at managing my time lately, and it's only gotten worse as schoolwork just got hella worse! I hope to wrap up Volume 3 as quickly as I can, and I can't wait until RWBY Volume 6 drops this Saturday! I wish y'all a pleasant day, please leave a review to tell me what you think and I'll see you all next time!**

* * *

 **Guest: That could work. I haven't played Odyssey as of now, though.**

 **Sam hill: I do believe that the Isu Armor alone would be enough to prolong Bayek's life but the idea of Alexios and Kassandra knowing Pyrrha would be an amazing idea.**

 **Guest: Soon, buddy. Soon. (by which I mean in a million years*oof*)**

 **Guest: Maybe. Possibly.**

 **Ezio Auditore: Good for you. Have a cookie.**

 **Guest: I will most likely have it by Volume 4, whenever I get to that point.**

 **Guest: Good to be back indeed.**

 **Guest: Maybe. But who knows?**

 **Sam hill: That'd be cool. But I suppose it'll either be Blake or nobody, really.**

 **CSIalchemist: That works. Sure.**

 **The Hidden One: Yeah. I do think that Jack wouldn't be someone to just bow down, but on some mutual level they have respect for one another. And you're right, Edward wouldn't believe she'd just do that, but he doesn't have as much of a selfless heart like Ezio might have. He is a pirate, after all.**

 **CT7567Rules: Well, I guess you can see how that worked out. Also, yes I do hope that happens.**

 **revan4221: Yeah, killing off Cinder would be a bad choice. Just hope RT doesn't say she did die.**

 **merendinoemiliano: Thanks!**

 **Omni warrior: Guess you'll have to find out later.**


	34. Skyfall

**Amity Coliseum, Above Beacon Academy, 30 minutes ago…**

Altaïr wedged his way through the massive crowd of people entering the Coliseum, pushing and shoving gently while trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, a skill he had learned and trained intensively over his time training as an Assassin.

Scanning the crowd from under his hood, he did his best to keep his step in line with the crowd's movements, blending in and acting as one with the mass of people.

After the revelations brought to light earlier that day, the Assassins now had a target in their crosshairs and were closing in as quickly as they could, in a struggle to end the threat before it exploded to untold proportions.

If there was one place they'd be to make their next move, Emerald and Mercury would definitely be among the audience for the Tournament tonight, and the Assassins would be waiting for them. Altaïr had already filled his allies in on their next move, and they had to make it quick.

Them framing Yang that night was a huge step, and if they continued at this pace, it wouldn't be unreasonable to say that they had mere hours before their endgame came full circle and hell was wreaked upon the entirety of Remnant. That thought alone made Altaïr shudder, and he was not one to show weakness.

Entering the Coliseum's entrance, Altaïr tapped a finger to the tiny device hooked under his earlobe, ringing up the rest of his brothers, already on the move as he spoke.

"This is Altaïr. I am in position in Gate B, entering the Coliseum now." Altaïr reported, awaiting the response from his brothers.

"This is Ezio. I'm in the fighter's bay below the terraces. We will be moving out to the arena for the randomization process in a few minutes and I will try to keep my eyes open then." Ezio reported from his position below the arena, waiting to be called up to the stadium along with the rest of the finalists.

"Connor here. I'm just entering the Coliseum with Edward on the top floor. Edward will take Gate M, and I will enter through Gate U. We will try to secure the top floor from both sides and work our way downwards. Hopefully, we'll find them." Their third member reported, closing in like the rest of his brothers.

Altaïr hummed with a calm nod as he stepped out into the terraces, exposing himself to the massive roar of the crowds cheering around the entire Coliseum, excited for the next round of the Finals to begin, the excitement in the air allowing the terrible memory of the night before to pass over as if it never happened.

"Remember, brothers. Be silent and be swift. Do not allow a soul to witness the assassination. The last thing we need is another uproar." Altaïr ordered into his earpiece, relaying the message to the rest of his brothers closing in within the Coliseum.

"Right!" The others responded quickly and obediently, dedicated to the mission and allowing nothing to distract them from finding their targets.

Altaïr had his hood down with his hands in his pockets, attempting to appear as inconspicuous as he could, while allowing his eyes to scan the audience rapidly in an attempt to find Emerald or Mercury.

Pacing down the concrete stairs at a regular rhythm that flowed with the rest of the excited crowd, Altaïr continued to walk as he watched every direction with the keen eyes of a hawk, shifting from one face to the next at a blinding speed.

Mentally growling, Altaïr cursed under his breath when he was unable to find either of them. Continuing to walk, Altaïr then stopped once he saw a familiar face near the bottom terraces, but it was not that of either of his targets.

Altaïr was surprised to see Ruby Rose standing up from her seat and leaning forward with her head cocked up and her eyes aimed at a single point, leading him to realize that she was spotting into the crowd on the other side of the arena.

Following his friend's gaze, Altaïr looked into the crowd and felt a miniscule gasp to escape his lips. Right where Ruby was staring, he caught glimpse of Emerald seated comfortably with an attentive expression on her face.

So then, his hunch was right. However, Altaïr noticed Emerald's gaze twist as she squinted into the audience, dangerously near Ruby's position. Altaïr did not stop his pace, striding down to where Ruby was, but then he noticed her moving from her current position, squirming through the tight space between the seats.

Narrowing his icy glare, Altaïr made his decision as he pressed a finger to his earpiece. "This is Altaïr. I have found Emerald seated opposite my position on the bottom aisle. However, I believe Ruby has as well. Converge on her position and keep your eyes open for our second target."

Reaching the bottom row, Altaïr then tailed Ruby, trying not to make his presence known to anybody, subtly activating his Semblance as he did so. Feeling his aura seep throughout his body, Altaïr felt the shadows around him fade into light as his body vanished from view.

Altaïr could imagine the envy of some of his classmates when they learned of the capabilities of his Semblance, but he did somewhat beg to differ, as the ability to turn completely invisible had some drawbacks.

Putting it scientifically, if one were to have light bend around a field surrounding your body, it would be literally impossible for one to see unless they possessed a sixth sense that allowed him to observe his surroundings in an entirely different way.

Altaïr also fought to keep his energy from draining for as long as his Semblance was active, as his aura was a quickly draining fuel to his Semblance and he never would be foolish enough to allow his aura to drop all the way in the risk of an unwanted encounter.

Biting his lip in concern, Altaïr followed closely behind Ruby, using his refined senses to keep his eyes on the young girl he called his friend.

Ruby's eyes flickered back and forth to Emerald, who thankfully hadn't seemed to notice her yet. Altaïr silently whispered words of gratitude to nobody in particular and continued until Ruby managed to walk out of the terraces and into a maintenance tunnel under the arena.

Walking closely behind the unsuspecting huntress-in-training, Altaïr treaded his steps as lightly as a feather, his entire body being consciously aware of how loud it would be each step he took as his soles tapped the concrete floor.

Fortunately, Altaïr became aware that his minimal movements were being vastly drowned out by the muffled cheering of the crowd outside, but at the same time, he knew that this meant time was running out. The next match was about to begin, and he could only dread how Emerald and Mercury would sabotage it to fulfill their agenda.

Suddenly, Ruby came to a stop and Altaïr was snapped out of his thoughts once he followed Ruby's eyes and stared directly into the face of his second target, standing on two legs and sneering wickedly at Ruby.

Steeling his composure, Altaïr growled under his breath as he stepped ahead of Ruby and circled around his target as the two of them conversed unknowing of his presence.

"M-Mercury? What are you doing? You were hurt! Why… What's going on?" Ruby stammered in confusion as Mercury's smug expression retained without a reply.

Ruby's face then curled into a frustrated frown as she stepped forward. "Fine… if you're not gonna tell me-"

However, Mercury didn't say a word and merely proceeded to step from side to side, blocking her from passing as the announcers continued to kick off the next round outside. Ruby's face continued to grow in panic as the seconds ticked by, and Mercury only stalled her further.

Without a word, Altaïr steeled his resolve and moved towards the two, flicking his ring finger up and deploying his hidden blade, ready to end this once and for all.

* * *

 **Outside…**

Normally, Pyrrha would have been thrilled to know she was chosen next to compete in the Vytal Tournament Finals, but she couldn't help but feel even more perplexed as she faced her bright and cheerful opponent, seemingly unaware of her poor state.

Her armor suddenly felt heavier as she weakly grasped her arm and tried to drown out the deafening noise of the crowd around her. She barely could hear her opponent's bubbly greeting as she reminisced over the mind-boggling events that transpired over the course of the week.

One minute, she was on her way to victory, celebrating her victory with her team and friends, and going back to training to become a guardian for the people. But now, her entire world was turned upside-down and right now, she could barely keep it in anymore.

Looking ahead, Pyrrha looked into the bright, cheerful eyes of Penny Polendina and with a slow, but steady movement, she allowed her weapons to arm herself as she stood ready, paying no mind to the cheers around her, barely managing to make out Nora's excited voice in the crowd. Her shield shimmered in the spotlights and her blade's edge glimmered as its tip was aimed between her enemy's eyes, grasped with deadly conviction.

Smirking slightly to herself, Pyrrha's face hardened into stone as she stood her ground, watching Penny assume a battle-ready stance, watching her with a bright smile rivaling Ruby's, but with eyes that scanned her up and down like a master tactician.

The two combatants watched one another, itching with anticipation as the crowd's noise died down to their ears, allowing only Rebecca's broadcast voice to enter, counting down the seconds for what felt like hours.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

"Begin!"

Rebecca's voice sounded outside, before being quickly deafened over the roaring cheer of the crowd. However, Ruby paid no attention to it. Her mind was racing, and her heart even faster as a clock ticked down rapidly within her brain.

She had to do something. She had to save them. She couldn't let anyone suffer anymore. Not after her mother had left her. Nobody deserved that.

Right now, all she had to do was get past Mercury, who did nothing but prevent her from advancing forward, acting as a wall between the caped huntress-in-training and her friends. Cursing herself mentally for not thinking to bring her scythe, Ruby tried to use any means necessary to get past.

She threw a punch at the teen, only for him to block her punches with seemingly minimal effort, and all with a smug grin on his face that made her heart crawl.

Growling under her breath, Ruby gathered her strength to rise to her feet, wiping the sweat off her brow as she stared at the silver-haired teenager standing in her way, dusting off his knuckles with a sneer directed at her.

"Tick, tock, Rubes. You can't save everyone." Mercury scoffed, barely even exhausted.

Ruby's eyes narrowed at his face as he spoke the words. She felt her mind flare up as her fingers curled into fists. Her heart beat like a drum as her muscles strained with her movements. Rising upright with a blank expression, Ruby aligned her glare with Mercury's, as if aiming Crescent Rose's sights directly into his frontal lobe.

"You're wrong," Ruby muttered with fire in her eyes.

"I will save them. I will stop you. And I WILL GET PAST YOU!" Ruby screamed as she summoned her energy to flow throughout her entire body, activating her Semblance.

Ruby's body was suddenly enveloped in a whirlwind of rose petals as her form turned into that of a red blur rocketing towards Mercury at top speed. In a flurry of crimson rose petals, Ruby sped towards Mercury with a vengeance.

However, it all ended just as quickly as Mercury flicked out a boot in front of him, nailing Ruby right in the stomach, leading her to cough out a groan in pain. Heaving a long breath, Ruby to her feet again, feeling her diaphragm contract and ache with each heave of her pained lungs.

Coughing hoarsely, Ruby's eyes flickered as she stared at the gatekeeper before her, standing in place and hardly moving. Her spirit was being drained, and she could nearly visualize her window of opportunity closing rapidly.

"Get past me? Heh! And just how are you gonna do that?!" Mercury snickered as he scoffed down at the red-caped girl.

However, the air suddenly dropped to a chill in temperature as an aura of pure death filled the space. Mercury's heart nearly stopped for more than a second as his sense of dread skyrocketed within an instant, as if the manifestation of his judgment had taken form and chiseled his fate into his very soul.

Turning around with a loaded shotgun blast in his boot, Mercury's attack stopped in mid-air as an armored fist blurred into visibility, unfurling to reveal the form of a hooded young man in white, raising his arm to block the teen's blow against his forearm's scaled bracer.

Ruby's eyes widened once she caught sight of Altaïr suddenly appearing, and she could only stare in awe as he pushed off with his bracer-clad forearm and knocked Mercury backward, proceeding to aim a flurry of jabs in his direction, which were deflected by Mercury's skillful footwork.

A swing aimed for his face was swatted away with a sharp clang, and a blur of a thrusting kick was held back with crossed arms from the Assassin, holding back Mercury's boot and causing both teens to push against one another, trying to gain an upper hand.

Altaïr then grasped at Mercury's shin, trying to pull him in for a strike with his hidden blade. However, Mercury then swung his body weight to the side, yanking his foot out of Altaïr's grasp and coiling back his leg to smash down on the Assassin.

His heel slammed into the floor, leaving a considerable dent in the surface, but Altaïr leaped backward in the nick of time. Glancing upwards at his enemy, Altaïr then turned to Ruby, who stared back at him in confusion.

Positive about her motives and that she was on the same mission as he was, Altaïr managed to allow a small smile to creep along his lip as he nodded his head softly, cueing Ruby to burst away with her Semblance, leaving the two of them alone.

Mercury looked back where Ruby had disappeared around the corner, and then back at Altaïr, the man who had allowed his target to escape. Mercury raised his hands to his chest and began to crack his knuckles against his palms, preparing for a fight.

Altaïr prepared similarly, shedding his hood to reveal his short, brownish hair and flicking his ring finger upwards to reveal his hidden blade, causing it to jut out from under his wrist and its surface to gleam in the overhanging light.

"You're too late, Assassin. You can't stop us now. Go home and take the loss like a real man." Mercury taunted the stoic Assassin, who responded with an ice-cold glare as he raised his fists to fight in a ready stance.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I can't stop this." Altaïr muttered just loudly enough for Mercury to understand, causing his eyebrows to dip into a frown.

"But…"

Mercury's eyes wavered into a confused expression as Altaïr's voice grew in passion and his eyes lit with a notable flame. Altaïr stared at his enemy, aiming his hidden blade at his skull, and grinned sinisterly with a murderous edge in his glare.

"…at least I can make sure you suffer justly for your sins."

* * *

 **Arena, Amity Coliseum** **(Finals Round 3: Pyrrha Nikos VS Penny Polendina)**

Pyrrha's mind moved at the speed of light as the duel raged on before the audience. Sparks flew and sweat dripped from her forehead as she attempted to keep up with her young combatant.

While she was aware of just how important and elevated the Vytal Tournament was compared to any competition she had previously participated in and conquered, but she could say for certain that the girl before her was near inhumanly talented.

Every movement was finely refined and calculated and every strike was confidently planned out, nearly as if a master tactician lied within her mind. Each time she dodged Penny's strikes, the weapons flying her way would simply reverse their direction and pursue her once more, attacking her from both sides.

Pyrrha leaped onto a flying sword and felt a second blade whizz past her face with incredible speed. Raising her blade, Pyrrha flicked a switch on the weapon, extending its form into a long javelin.

Grasping the shaft of the polearm, Pyrrha smacked away any flying swords coming her way, her hawk-like eyes moving rapidly to track down anything in front of her as she advanced.

Spinning the tip of the spear to swat away another blade, Pyrrha yelled as she heaved the javelin onto Penny, who merely raised her arms to defend herself, calling back her swords to protect her and hold back Pyrrha's attack.

Growling in frustration, Pyrrha leaped backward as Penny swung her blades up to strike her enemy within range before the ginger-haired girl moved on the offense and sped towards Pyrrha with her blades dancing around her.

Bracing for immediate impact, Pyrrha used her lance as a barrier, defending against Penny's relentless assaults, her petite hands gracefully guiding the blade's movements like a skilled puppetmaster at work.

With each swing of her hand, the blades followed in a seamless motion, delivering barrages of strikes against the redheaded champion. All the while, Penny's smile never left her face, and her composure was completely calm and resolute. Striking her open palm forward, Penny's blades then slammed forth into Pyrrha's weapon, knocking her back a few feet but failing to knock her down.

Pyrrha could hear the sounds of the crowd cheering around her, including those of her own friends and teammates as she slid her shield down to her other arm, prepared to kick her game up a notch. Breathing calmly, Pyrrha attempted to compose herself as she raised her sword forward to face her enemy for the second act.

However, one look at her weapons began to falter her sense of confidence, as the groan of metal straining and her weapons nearly appearing to bend inwards caused her fear to resurface. However, these visions did little to stop her from moving on as she ran forth to fight once again.

* * *

 **Maintenance Tunnel, Amity Coliseum**

In the darkened tunnels under the seats of the massive audience, another battle was unknowingly raging, albeit with a significantly larger amount of killing intent. Two assassins traded blows within the enclosed space, bearing no weapons apart from their fists in a duel to the death.

Altaïr clawed for Mercury's face, hoping to draw blood with his malice-fueled strikes. However, the silver-haired assassin was no novice and blocked each strike with his arms, shoving aside his attacks with equally matched speed.

Mercury returned his assault with a flurry of kicks, only to be met with similar retaliation. A leg aimed for Altaïr's ribs was blocked with a bracer, and a jab of the sole was similarly deflected. Mercury then swung his other leg for the Assassin's face, only for Altaïr to raise his bracer again to defend himself, before retaliating with a swift hook against Mercury's chest, knocking the air out of him and leaving him open for a second.

Altaïr flared with a deathly aura as his hand was curled back like a cobra about to deliver a fatal strike of its fangs, as Altaïr's hidden blade flicked outwards and was thrust directly at Mercury's chest with the sole intent to administer swift death.

However, Mercury easily detected Altaïr's movements and used the momentum of his body to swing his heel above his chest and against Altaïr's head, aiming to shatter his skull like a clay jar.

Seeing his attack backfiring, Altaïr swiftly reacted, ducking as he rode the weight of his body moving forward, allowing his head to snake under the metal limb and his body to maneuver under his flying boot.

Flicking out his hidden blade again, Altaïr swiftly acted, gashing the blade against his opponent's torso, causing his aura to violently crackle with silvery sparks of energy. Mercury visibly flinched as he groaned under his breath, but he did not succumb to his small defeat as he raised his arms again to resume their duel.

Altaïr breathed heavily as the battle raged on, and his mind was racing with thoughts. Thoughts of Ruby and her mission. Thoughts about the match outside that had been rigged to sow the seeds of his enemies' plans. He was determined to stop Mercury at all costs, right here and now if it was the last thing he could do.

In front of him, Mercury grinned sinisterly, reassuming his battle stance but with a visible quiver in his muscles with each step he took. Altaïr could tell with a single glance that this fight was wearing him out just as much as it was for himself, but he couldn't afford to drop his guard, not until one of them ceased to breathe.

"Give up, Mercury. At this rate, you won't be able to stand anymore." Altaïr snarled, attempting to end this when he had the chance. He wanted to end this as soon as possible, and the tenacity of his foe was not helping in the slightest. At the rate they were going, only one of them would leave this tunnel alive.

However, to his frustration, Mercury stroked the wound Altaïr had inflicted on him, feeling his hand smear on his own blood and merely chuckled dryly as he advanced towards the Assassin.

"You know, my dad was a real prick, but he at least made sure I never gave in. Every day, every night, the bastard squeezed me until my muscles burned and my blood poured. You think that you can shake me? You'll have to rip me apart piece by piece if you think I'm gonna just give up." Mercury wiped the blood on his palm against his sleeve, and then returned Altaïr's death glare.

Altaïr fell silent as his stance reached its peak, paying no mind to the single drop of blood that stained his hidden blade. He had inflicted a gash on Mercury's body, and all he had to do now was do the same for his neck.

"So be it, traitor," Altaïr growled as he charged his enemy again.

There were no more words exchanged between the two any longer, as all grievances had been voiced and their consciences cleared. Now it was certain that only a single victor would remain to leave the tunnel.

Altaïr moved quickly, and so did Mercury, as the two rushed each other to meet at the center of the hallway. Altaïr was the first to strike, swinging a right hook for Mercury's face, which he countered by meeting it with a raised forearm, holding strong against the Assassin's strength.

Mercury was next to strike, thrusting a clenched fist upwards for Altaïr's jaw, which was similarly deflected, before punching with his other arm, only to meet Altaïr's swift redirection once more as his hand pushed the attack away from him.

Feeling his weight shift, Mercury swung his leg back and around, diagonally kicking downwards in an attempt to crush his skull, but Altaïr quickly ducked sideways, allowing the Assassin to feel the quick breeze of the boot passing just above his nose.

However, Mercury then escaped his hunched posture and hurled himself backward, flipping back up and delivering a vertical kick that struck Altaïr in his legs, sweeping him off his feet and up in the air with him.

Using this opportunity, Mercury grinned and spun around, winding his leg around to smash the Assassin into the ground. However, Altaïr bit down his pain and crossed his arms in front of him, blunting the impact, but unable to prevent himself from crashing to the floor with a sickening cruch.

As Mercury approached at top speed to finish him off, Altaïr merely gritted his teeth and spat out as he rose to his feet. Mercury was soon right in front of him and assaulted him with a series of kicks, all of which Altaïr attempted to match, block, or evade.

Each strike of his boot chipped at his defense, and as one kick was deflected by his own, another had to be dodged with a swift dash to the right within the span of a split-second.

Altaïr's movements were fluid and methodical, constantly changing in pattern with the speed of his mind analyzing the situation. His hands moved to counter and return Mercury's strikes, while his opponent mimicked his approach, deflecting his strikes with kicks and punches while returning fire.

Altaïr's fist stopped Mercury's leg and immediately moved to stab Mercury's torso with his hidden blade, only for Mercury to swat him aside with his free hand, spinning to redirect a boot for his stull, which Altaïr ducked under and moved to strike back with an uppercut.

Mercury leaped back with great speed, and then flicked his leg out, firing off a shotgun blast that chipped away at Altaïr's aura, causing him to groan in mild pain. Mercury then advanced quickly, jabbing the sole of his boot aiming for Altaïr's chest.

Seeing through his enemy, Altaïr raised both arms in an attempt to block the silver-haired boy's attacks. Deflecting one strike, Altaïr then maneuvered his leg up, causing his curled knee to meet Mercury's second strike, leading him to land and use his body weight to lean the other direction, swerving his other foot to strike Mercury's face.

Far from a novice fighter, Mercury reached and grabbed at Altaïr's leg, holding it back as the Assassin strained against his strength. Growling under his breath, Mercury pushed off with both arms and moved once more to strike at the Assassin with his fist.

However, the hooded man regained his footing just in time to swipe at the incoming attack, diverting it away from him, before striking with his own hand outstretched with his hidden blade out, only to be met with the same results as Mercury swerved to the side and pulled him in with his arm.

Yanking hard, Mercury then heaved forward and ducked, tossing Altaïr over his shoulder. The Assassin's body flew over Mercury's, and then slammed into the ground with a loud thud, causing Altaïr to groan out from the impact as his back smashed against the floor.

Coming to his senses in a near instant, Altaïr's blurred vision cleared only to be met with Mercury rising into the air above him with a foot raised. Rolling out of the way in the nick of time, Altaïr rose to his knees as Mercury's heel blew a crater into the floor, scattering debris from his strike.

Seizing the opportunity, Altaïr sprinted at Mercury, coiling back an arm to strike. Mercury, however, saw this coming and moved to intercept him. Holding his forearm in front of him, Mercury blocked off Altaïr's preemptive strike and then moved to react to his other fist.

Reaching with an open palm, Mercury felt Altaïr's punch smash into his hand, causing his arm to quiver at the sudden impact, but nonetheless, his strength prevailed over his as Altaïr's tension began to falter.

He watched as the Assassin's disconsolate face twisted into a frown as his teeth bared in a growl. Twisting his wrist, Mercury watched as Altaïr's eyes widened in pain. Smirking, Mercury prodded further, trying to see how far he could go before he broke-

 ***schlk** *****

Pain.

Mercury felt pain shoot up from his hand and up his arm, jerking his head downwards to find crimson blood dribbling from his fist. To his horror, he discovered the source of his pain; Altaïr's hidden blade piercing his palm and emerging from his knuckle.

"AAAAAGGGHHH!"

Mercury screamed in pain, grasping his arm tightly in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. Altaïr on the other hand breathed heavily but remained silent in spite of his otherwise worse condition. Gazing down at the Assassin's hand, Mercury's eyes widened in shock to find a bloodied stump where his ring finger should have been.

Extending from the space between his middle and little finger, Mercury only saw his hidden blade, stained with both their blood. Much to his surprise, Altaïr's stance never faltered despite his pain. He could tell from his quivering eyes that he was in agony, but he only raised his arms to strike again.

"That hurt. I can tell you had it worse, though. Still think you can keep up with me?" Mercury taunted, despite the sweat forming along his forehead.

However, the Assassin before him only returned his glare with an equal dose of venom, if not greater. "Hurt?!"

Altaïr then reached into his pocket, retrieving a red Dust crystal, and then proceeded to press the fire crystal against his wound, burning the stump shut and causing it to smoke up and his teeth to grit. Tears rolled down his eyes, but his angry frown remained.

 _"_ …A finger is nothing. My suffering is meaningless as an Assassin. If I must sacrifice my head to defend the freedom of Remnant, I will do so without fear!" Altaïr declared defiantly, jamming the crystal into his hidden blade, causing it to glow brightly with a red-hot edge.

"Are you willing to make the same sacrifice for your master?"

Mercury did not respond to him, nor did he continue to pay mind to his injury. All that mattered was that they would settle this right here and now, at least until the job was done. His only other concern right now was just how long Emerald was going to take before the rest of them found her.

* * *

 **Terraces, Amity Coliseum**

Connor's eyes skimmed through the crowd, using his hawk-like senses in an attempt to seek out their missing targets, but to no success. There was simply way too much going on all at once.

The cheer of the crowd deafened his ears, and the restless sea of people covering the terraces was constantly moving, leaving their faces blurs in the heat of the fight raging down below in the arena.

All eyes were watching Penny and Pyrrha fight, and the crowd was bursting with excitement. To find Emerald or Mercury amongst all this madness was like digging for a needle in a haystack, but his duty to the creed compelled him to press on.

Connor rested his arms on the railing of one of the balconies overlooking the arena, right over one of the gates in and out of the auditorium. Gazing down at the arena, he could spot Pyrrha's fierce duel against Penny, watching as the deceptively cute girl slammed her swords into Pyrrha's shield for the umpteenth time, trying to crack through her defenses.

Connor could think of one or two ways this fight could be rigged to serve their enemy's plans, but for the moment, he was still baffled to wonder the possible reasons one could have to go so far. He could see no logic in aiding _her_ , and he could find no future in aiding the creatures of darkness.

Connor knew more than most about the desire for revenge, but this insanity was beyond his comprehension.

He thought back to Adam and his journey off the deep end. He and Blake walked that fine line, and yet, he took the leap and declared war against society. Connor's world slowed down as his mind began to race.

Was their enemy no different? How far was he from becoming like them? Would he have done the same? Committed these senseless atrocities?

He then thought of Edward. When he had found him for the first time, they knew of the kinship they shared at that moment, yet they could not explain it. At first glance, they were nothing alike. Edward was a boisterous and careless rebel, and he was quiet and loyal.

While he had his concerns for his cousin's roguish behavior, he could never deny his heart of gold. At his core, he had a burning desire to protect those closest to him, much like himself.

No. He was nothing like these animals.

He would never be like them, and neither would any of his brothers.

Pressing a finger to his ear, Connor rang up the channel to see if any of his teammates would respond. If he had found nothing, then hopefully they would have.

"This is Connor. Is anybody there?"

At first, his only response was a brief silence, but Connor's hopes soared once he heard a muffled buzz from the other side of his comms. After a faint whirr, Edward's voice sounded from his earpiece.

"Edward here. Any luck?"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Connor responded. "No. I wasn't able to find them. What about Altaïr? I attempted to contact him, but I can't seem to get ahold of him."

The pirate's voice fell silent for a second, causing Connor's breath to hitch. "Uhh… yeah, no such luck here, mate."

A second ping entered his ears, and this cued Ezio to join in the conversation. "Sorry for joining in late. I just left the locker rooms. Any luck so far?"

Edward said nothing, nor could they exchange a signal, but Connor instinctively knew to answer. "We haven't found Emerald or Mercury yet. Altaïr hasn't checked in yet."

A still silence filled the air as Ezio processed the recent message, only to be quickly dissipated by Edward's intervention. "Is it really that bad? Ghostie never speaks up unless he has to anyway. Besides, maybe he's taking a piss or something."

Ezio failed to hold back a single snicker under his breath but immediately composed himself. "Yeah, but you all know Altaïr wouldn't let anything distract him from a mission. What if he's already found one of them?"

A brief pause ensued. If Altaïr had already run into one of them and he wasn't answering their call, that would infer he was still in the middle of a fight.

"Should we investigate?" Connor prodded, perplexed as to how to approach this.

" _No._ "

That fourth voice was none of their own, and each Assassin was taken aback. How in the world had someone managed to tap their network?

"What is this? Who are you?!" Ezio demanded amidst his surprise.

Despite this, however, their intruder's voice was hardly clear, indicating a forced connection that was ready to break off at any second. Who was this, however? Another Assassin? Perhaps an agent from a third party? Connor could only remain suspicious. " _Your leader will be fine, Assassins. But first things first, Edward._ "

Connor's brow quirked once he heard this. What could this person have to do with his cousin?

"Yeah? What 'ya want, pissant?" Edward cussed into the comms, making Connor cringe mildly.

" _I have something you'll need, and you'll pick it up at Gate B within the hour. However…_ "

" _Just a heads up, keep your eyes on the front row."_

* * *

 **Arena, Amity Coliseum**

Now fully armed and determined, Pyrrha was moving faster than she had ever before, using her blade simultaneously with her circular shield to deflect Penny's blades flying at her from all directions.

Spinning in a circle, Pyrrha's eyes and battle senses kept track of every blade sent her way, as her arms and body moved to stop them. Flaring with a fierce spirit, Pyrrha was now fighting like a truly unstoppable force, using her Semblance to fend off stray blades while her techniques and swordsmanship did the rest of the work.

Penny herself was easily identifying the jump in Pyrrha's combat pace, but she remained calm and continued to analyze the situation, as she was programmed to.

With a proud roar, Pyrrha closed the gap between her and Penny, utilizing the long reach of her lance to streak lacerating strikes across Penny's body, causing her aura to flash in agitation.

A swipe of her javelin sent her opponent's head jerking to the right, and then a swing across the floor struck her ankles, causing her stance to stagger. Finally, Pyrrha spun around and delivered a powerful thrusting strike to Penny's belly, charged with the crimson luminescence of her aura.

The strike sent Penny flying, and likely would have blown a hole through her aura had the girl not used two crossed swords to hold back the vicious blow. Soaring through the air, Pyrrha narrowed her gaze for her hidden gambit.

Seconds ticked by as her eyes alone judged distance and trajectory, although her Semblance could easily render these preparations redundant. Nonetheless, Pyrrha swerved into alignment and assumed another stance.

Clutching her spear in hand, Pyrrha held the polearm parallel to her eyeline, and then pulled her arm back so that the weapon's golden edges were inches from her cheek. Breathing steadily, Pyrrha then made the shot.

Flinging the weapon forth with great strength, the air around her burst outwards from the force of her throw. Additionally, Pyrrha coined her attack with a well-timed gunshot from the spear, using the recoil of the blast to further increase the speed of her lance.

"Looks like Ms. Nikos is in the zone tonight! Is this epic duel coming to a close?" Rebecca announced from the announcer's booth, leading the crowd to join in on her excitement and anticipation.

The crowd cheered as Pyrrha's spear flew through the air, rocketing towards Penny at amazing speed. At this rate, Penny's direction would not be able to change in a way to prevent her from being hit at full force. Pyrrha recognized this and used her Semblance to guide her lance's trajectory as the weapon sped ever closer to its target.

However, Penny was not to be underestimated in the least. Grinning cheekily, Penny's back compartment opened in a split-second and a pair of her signature swords sprung from within, embedding themselves firmly in the ground below.

Realizing her blunder, Pyrrha sprinted towards Penny, who had dodged Miló's flight by using her swords to tug herself out of the way in the nick of time. Using her Semblance once more, Pyrrha's lance spun around in mid-air and reverted back into its alternate form as a short sword before returning to Pyrrha's open palm.

Using her distance to her advantage, Penny reassumed her footing with a graceful roll and recalled her swords back to her. Holding out her arms, Penny's swords then shifted in form and began to glow a bright neon color.

Firing beams of pure energy, Penny's attacks forced Pyrrha to immediately take evasive maneuvers, dashing, sliding and leaping to evade each bolt of light aimed for her. She used her shield in one hand to reflect the bolts off of its surface, all while closing the distance between the two of them.

Shortly after, Pyrrha found herself using her blade in conjunction with her shield in an attempt to hold off a hail of swords being thrown her way from every conceivable trajectory. Her shield would deflect one flying blade, only for her to turn the opposite way to smack away a second sword with her own.

As grueling and taxing this task was on her hands, Pyrrha never let her weakness show, nor did she falter to allow an opening to reveal itself. Rushing forward, Pyrrha coiled back her arm, gripping her blade with all her strength and jabbed forward, nailing the Atlesian champion right in her abdomen, sending her hurtling backwards.

Smirking in her victory, Pyrrha retracted her arm with satisfaction. By now, Penny's aura was reaching its limits and there was no doubt that this fight would be ending quickly. However, another surge of dizziness spun up in her brain, causing her to falter.

It was then that Penny rocketed forward, using her swords firing behind her as jets so that she could rear up and land a powerful kick on Pyrrha, sending her flying backward.

Recovering from the powerful assault with much effort, Pyrrha limped back to her feet and raised her weapons as her vision began to return to clarity. However, she felt her left arm knock to the side, as a flying sword smacked her shield right off her arm, immediately followed by her other arm, her xiphos sword clattering to the ground several meters from her as a flying blade knocked it away.

Snapping out of her dazed stupor, Pyrrha extended an arm to reach out to her sword, using her Semblance to summon it back into her open grasp. However, as it reached her arm, another flying blade courtesy of Penny smacked it out of reach.

Looking ahead at the opposing champion, Pyrrha saw Penny smirk with a light shake of the head, before assuming a stance with both arms raised, with her swords lined up for a final assault.

However, it was then that her world began to swirl around her.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Emerald focused. She could feel eyes on her as she squinted, trying to keep her maroon eyes firmly on Pyrrha.

Her stature was that of complete control, but inwardly, she was gravely aware that she didn't have long. Soon enough, those Assassins would find her and she would be finished.

However, she was almost finished, and that was all they needed. She continued to focus her Aura, reaching out with her Semblance and tapping into the champion's mind.

Sooner or later, she would break and it would be witnessed by the whole world.

Deep down, she understood that this was wrong, that she was doing something horrible in every sense of the word. Right now, however, she paid no mind to it.

Cinder was all that mattered. Cinder was the only one who ever cared for a street rat like her.

She and Jack took her in under their wing, and they kept their promises to her. Emerald couldn't ask for more, and she was more than willing to do this all for them if it meant paying them back.

As far as she was concerned, the world could go ahead and burn. Nobody ever cared for her, so why shouldn't she be doing this?

* * *

 **Swords**

Swords.

Multiplying.

Growing.

Too many.

So many swords.

I can't defend against this many.

I'm going to die.

Pyrrha watched as Penny's swords multiplied in number.

Eight became eighty.

Eighty became eight hundred.

And they didn't stop. They only grew, and grew, and grew in number, never stopping.

How was she supposed to do this?

What in the world was she seeing?!

I have a plan. It might work.

Oh, gods, I hope I can pull this off.

And with that, Pyrrha's mind gathered all its strength, and she pushed out with all her force-

 **STOOOOOP!**

Ruby?!

Pyrrha suddenly snapped out of whatever daze she was entrapped in. Suddenly her vision cleared once more and her mind was clear once again. Looking quickly at the source of the disturbance, she could see Ruby dashing as quickly as she could out of a maintenance tunnel, waving her arms frantically.

She looked ahead, and she watched in horror.

Where there were once thousands of blades, only eight remained in the air. Was it a trick of the eye? Her own imagination? What was that?!

And all of a sudden, an overwhelming wave of horror and dread rose in her throat with one single thought.

" _Earlier… my Semblance…_ "

Looking ahead in horror, she could see Penny's swords flying backward at incredible speed, sent by the enormous magnetic wave she fired at her. Although the blades seemed to levitate on their own, Pyrrha could see still see the thin, but strong strings that connected them to their wielders.

Realizing what was about to happen, Pyrrha desperately lunged forward and reached out her hands, trying to catch the blades before disaster struck. Hopefully, the magnetic pull of her Semblance could overpower their momentum.

Alas, she was only a second too late.

"NOOO!"

Penny visually strained against the violent tug of the strings as they tangled around her body. The strings, while thin, while light, were incredibly strong, akin to a high-grade alloy than an everyday puppet's string.

The strings wrapped around the girl's body, over her arms, and around her waist, hugging her body tightly and pulling her back with violent force.

Pyrrha could only watch on as fractions of a second passed like minutes. The Altesian champion was unbearably afraid and confused, terrified about what was happening to her, and the world could only watch as they shared in Pyrrha's terror.

The strings then began to pinch, closing inwards as they tightened around the girl's small body. Penny was falling, but her body was already beginning to break even before she was hitting the ground.

The strings continued to tighten, and the screech of metal twisting filled the air, as the string began to pinch tighter, reaching Penny's body.

She was made of metal, but her body fell apart before she could fully process what was happening, and the world bore witness in silent horror as Penny's midsection split open, bisecting the poor girl.

However, much to everybody's additional shock, there was no blood, as mechanical machinery was made visible from the gruesome injury, her body opening up to reveal crackling electricity from severed wires.

The girl's eyes flickered, threatening to dim and lose all their life, and Penny's mind could only muster so much before the last of her energy ebbed away.

" _Ruby... I…I'm~_ "

Seconds passed by in complete silence, some out of pure shock, others in complete horror, but all held their breath as Penny Polendina's body fell to the floor, completely dismantled and destroyed.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Hanging up on the Assassin trio, Shay removed his scroll from his ear as he reached for his air rifle slung snugly across his back, slipping the strap over the shoulder of his coat.

Holding the customized weapon in his hand, Shay gazed over its smooth surface, stroking the scars inflicted on its frame over years of use, mostly for less than honorable purposes. However, he quickly turned to look down at his recently located target.

Shay sat atop the arena, over the overhanging framework overlooking the entire Coliseum, seated between the massive spotlights that illuminated the space and hidden away in the corner behind the back row and several meters above the cheering audience.

Scoffing, Shay picked up his rifle with both hands and opened the barrel by cocking back a lever, opening a slot in the side of the weapon above the trigger, before inserting his ammunition.

Apart from conventional Dust ammunition, Shay took pride in his air rifle, which also was able to fire special darts of his own design. As a huntsman, weapons such as these would be largely inefficient against Grimm, but Shay was alternatively named the "Hunter" because of this reason.

Slotting a green dart into the barrel, Shay cocked the lever back in place, loading the weapon and preparing to take the shot on his target. Squinting into the front row, he saw Emerald sitting in place, her green-topped hair still, carefully observing the events transpiring in the arena.

Smirking under his lip, his eyes locked on his mark with killer intent. Heaving the gun with both hands, he grasped the barrel and wrapped his hand around the handle, fiddling with the trigger as he aimed.

Calm as ever, he lined up the sights of his weapon, and as he pulled the trigger, the hiss of compressed air entered his ears for a brief second as the dart rocketed down towards his target. It wasn't hard to hit her when she was sitting perfectly still anyway.

The shot was clean and precise, cutting through the air and downwards into the audience. Shay's aim never failed him, and as he fired the dart into the audience, he smirked as he hit the bullseye.

Down below, Emerald concentrated her Semblance, squinting her eyes as her mind pulsed with energy, causing Pyrrha's hallucination to reach its peak, completely overwhelming her senses as she staggered around in confusion and terror.

Leaning forward, her temples pounded and her senses diverted to solely focus on her target, dulling everything else around her. The crowd's cheers quieted to mere whispers in her ears, and her vision blurred, only allowing Pyrrha's form to retain full clarity within her sight.

She watched Pyrrha's panicked face at her illusion, her green eyes paling and shaking almost violently. Soon, it would all be over, and she would wake up only to realize the horror she had-

Something hit her.

She could barely feel it, but a small itch suddenly rose in her neck, not unlike a fly landing on her skin. With the energy she was pushing into her Semblance, she barely cared, much less noticed it.

However, the dart's effects began to take hold over her near instantly after. The first thing she noticed was her vision beginning to blur even further. Her senses, however, didn't appear to be weakening, instead, it appeared they were beginning to strengthen.

Her hearing suddenly cleared up, and so did her senses of sight and the raging headache she was facing. That was the main problem. The blaring noise of the audience was so loud that she barely was able to notice how bright her vision was becoming as if someone was flashing a torch directly into her eyes.

She stood up, but her brain could hardly work hard enough to sustain the strength to support her own weight. Emerald held her hands to her head, in an attempt to calm her raging nerves and to drown out the thunderous noise of the crowd.

Heaving forward, Emerald let out a cough, a violent one at that. Staring at her hand, she saw her own blood splattered all over her palms, covered in her own phlegm and spit. Additionally, she noted the unnaturally bright color her aura was glowing all over her body, however, this was not the bright and brilliant shimmer she was used to.

Instead, the sparks on her hand were chaotic and erratic, more like crackles of lightning in a hurricane, threatening to fry her body inside-out with her own spiritual energy.

Emerald let out a pained scream, but nobody near her seemed to react. By the time she realized this, she then came to realize she was already falling to the ground. Then, her vision went completely black.

* * *

 **Elsewhere…**

Emerald shot wide awake. Sitting upright, she couldn't help but feel different.

The first thing she noted was the disappearance of her pain. Her head no longer spun, nor did her ears fill with pain. In fact, it was completely silent.

Observing her surroundings, she saw nothing. Nothing but a blank landscape as far as the eye could process. The ground on which she sat was colorless, and it was colorless as far as she could see.

The sky was… well, one would be hard-pressed to call it a sky at all. It was formless, featureless, and just as colorless as the ground. Putting it simply, if nowhere was a place, then she would consider this the closest thing.

Is this Heaven?

Hell?

Some place in between?

With these thoughts, a new sense of dread rose to her mind.

Did she die?

"Emerald Sustrai…"

Turning her head to the source of the voice, Emerald saw the only other person within this purgatory. She recognized his jaded features, his slicked-back hair and his dark coat, all belonging to the same man who had attempted to stop them before.

Shay approached the girl, who instinctively stepped back, a mixture of confusion, hatred, and regret in her swirling eyes. He stepped slowly, but surely enough to allow her to come to the conclusion.

"This is it, huh? I'm dead?" Emerald asked softly, her voice cracking with anxiety.

Shay paused. However, he did not show hesitation as his face never changed from its stoic indifference.

"Yeah, you could say. One could say this is the place in between. It's rather intriguing how much a single Aura Overload dart does wonders."

Emerald's eyes let out a few tears as thoughts circled her mind, enveloping her in emotions she could not communicate out loud if she tried, but this quickly faded as her fists then tightened and clenched into fists.

Choking back her tears, Emerald then turned to face her killer.

"You think killing me stopped a thing? That we've lost?"

"You don't have a clue, Assassin. None of you do. We've already won. My only regret is that I can't join Cinder to enjoy it. I know you understand how it feels."

Shay said nothing for just a few moments, before stepping forward with his air rifle unslung and gripped in his hands, cocking the weapon in preparation to shoot.

"Your victory will be short-lived."

Shay raised the gun over his head, gazing down at the kneeling Emerald breathing weakly with cold, ruthless eyes.

"Your masters will burn."

Shay then aimed the muzzle of the rifle at her head, pointing the long barrel directly down at the front tip of her skull, just above her forehead.

"And now, so will you."

 **STOOOOOP!**

* * *

 **Next Time: The Battle for Beacon Begins!**

 **Terribly sorry about the incredibly long delay, and I believe I can't talk my way out of this one now. I want these out just as much as you do, but I'm still a procrastinating little shit who can't get anything done on time. Sorry about everything, I'm glad for all the support you've all given me and I cannot be more thankful for each of your kind acts. After all, they are what keep me motivated to continue this story! Until next time!**

 **merendinoemiliano: Well, hope that this doesn't disappoint.**

 **Nothing is true: Well, with the new revelations in Vol. 6, maybe I can have some material to work around for an Odyssey spinoff.**

 **Sleeping Skeleton: I don't think a full-on prevention of the Fall of Beacon would be enough to work around, considering the fact that the actual story doesn't seem to be going back from there, but I do understand where you're coming from and I hope that what changes I make will work.**

 **CSIalchemist: Sorry to disappoint, my dude.**

 **27 the goat alexander: Huh… I actually don't really know how to fit Desmond into this. Maybe I'll think of something.**

 **CT7567Rules: That would be quite a stretch, but I guess you know what happened now.**

 **The Hidden One: I think I have a way to work in the Staff and the other Pieces of Eden to the story. Secondly, if I recall, the Staff can take multiple forms. Maybe Bayek's Isu Armor was actually the Staff, passed down to him as the Mentor of the Assassins.**

 **airnaruto45: Cool. I like Ezio too. He got dem outlets.**

 **The Hidden One: Cool, but I already have something in mind for that.**

 **servantofcardin: No birbs were harmed in the writing of these chapters. I humbly apologize for upsetting a disciple of our lord and savior.**

 **Sam hill: Yep. Looks like we can breathe a sigh of relief.**

 **Guest: You can say that again. This episode literally changed everything.**

 **airnaruto45: I know that very, very well. However, it doesn't make sense if they were the same age and still considered grandfather and grandson. If that were the case, Edward should be an old man and definitely not a student in Beacon. Which he is not. Therefore, I elected to make my own changes in the story as this is a silly, silly, fanfiction above all else.**

 **Guest: I LIIIIVVVEE!**

 **Guest: Who knows? Maybe I will in the future.**

 **Watcher of ways: Thanks for offering your criticism! This was my first story, and I think it's amazing how different my writing is from when I first started. I hope that I can keep improving in the future.**


	35. (Author's Note)

**Hey, guys. Very, very sorry I was unable to keep this story updated. Let me explain some things for a moment.**

 **First things first, I am** _ **NOT**_ **abandoning A Creed Reborn. I have mentioned that I have time management issues, and with exam week in full swing, I am in more pressure than ever before. I don't resent anybody for leaving reviews telling me to update, and I was hoping to get this latest chapter as soon as I was able, but the thing is, I've been feeling very unmotivated as of late.**

 **First of all, I am not saying in any way that I wish to stop working on this story, but it's more of an issue with what it came to be. Certain decisions with characters I made back then, now I look back and see them as unnecessary and making future plans more complicated. I haven't found time to write, and even then I am very dead in the water in terms of my creative process because part of me wants to rewrite this whole thing, but even then, I would be too lazy to even get started.**

 **Please understand that I want to move forward with this story, but certain criticisms make me feel as if the direction I've taken has simply made my progress that much more difficult. It's been two years since this began, and I want more than anything to see it through to the end. Once I find time and recollect my thoughts, I will be more than willing to get back to work, but as of now, I just want you all to be patient with me and give me suggestions as to how I can improve.**

 **Thanks to all of you, for everything you've helped me through to get this far. So here's a small sneak peek for what I have so far. I'll respond to reviews once I have the whole thing done, but for now, I wish you all the best.**

 **Beacon Academy, several months ago…**

Legends. Stories scattered through time.

The world of Remnant was no true paradise, nor would perfection ever exist amongst its inhabitants, but Ruby was ever the optimist even amongst the bright and aspiring alumni of the prestigious Beacon Academy.

Every day, she met the morning with radiant joy and enthusiasm, living her life like a bustling ball of hyperactive energy eager to experience whatever surprises life had planned for her with the upmost display of joy and wonder.

Whenever she faced sorrow or difficulty, her struggle and distress could be exposed, but only for a moment before the brightness of her toothy grin returned indefinitely, shining heavenly light into the hearts of all those around her.

Altaïr could only shake his head in confusion at this bizarre phenomenon before him and laugh softly to himself, struggling to comprehend the depths of her bottomless optimism as they sat atop one of the massive arching structures lining the vast campus courtyard.

These towering walls gave the estate a more historic and grand aesthetic, while also simultaneously displaying a show of strength and power, inspiring its inhabitants and onlookers to revel in the strength of those sworn to protect the world from the forces of darkness.

" _A dreamer's vision._ " The Assassin would find himself thinking privately.

The world was unforgiving and cruel, as he could very easily describe in needlessly oversaturated detail, and he believed with a firm resolve that the worst enemies of humanity were their own arrogance and greed. These were ideals that were etched into his soul and being, and Altaïr had faced his fair share of experiences to support his beliefs.

However, as much as he tried to, as much as he rationalized and imagined the possible reasoning, Altaïr still struggled to comprehend this contradiction of ideals that he faced in the form of a young teenage girl dressed in a black skirt and a red hooded cape.

Ruby had caught him sketching in his journal in the library in the midst of studying, and needless to say, he wasn't exactly perfectly prepared for the crimson whirlwind of caffeine and sunshine to burst in with the grace of a stampede of angry Goliaths, startling everybody including himself to the point that he had nearly tipped his chair over backwards.

Certainly not the mark of a skilled Assassin, he thought to himself with a mental smirk.

When the little girl burst into the massive room, Altaïr initially presumed she had lost another of her board games and would ransack the hundreds of bookshelves to find it, just as she did the last three or four times before tonight. Sighing with a mild upward curl of his lips, he picked up his pen from the floor and was about to resume with his sketch, before he turned back to Ruby.

The leader of Team RWBY was staring directly at him with her wide and sparkling eyes of silver, flashing another one of her blindingly luminous smiles at him. For a moment, Altaïr could have sworn that he had unconsciously gulped down, and he had no clue as to why.

That was when the girl zipped up to him until they were only inches apart from each other, his taller stature causing him to stare down at the small-framed huntress-in-training as she held her arms akimbo and bent over with her head staring upward to meet his confused eyes, with a rather cute pouting expression on her face.

"Aahh! Finally! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Altaïr had no reply to the sudden outburst from the small girl, and his only response was to raise an eyebrow at the little girl's antics, sending the subtle message that he had no clue as to why she had barged in to interrupt him going about his daily business.

After a brief scolding from the huntress-in-training about his ridiculous work ethic and how he studied too much and needed a break, the next thing Altaïr knew, he was being dragged by the hand outside by the little girl at top speed, Ruby using her Semblance to zip out of the large doors of the library and down the hallways of the campus in a brazen flurry of rose petals.

Of course, this led him to the arcs in the courtyard, where he and Ruby sat to gaze up at the midnight stars in the vast canvas of the moonlit cosmos above. As an Assassin, relaxation was only a bleak suggestion in his daily life, but Ruby was far too insistent to allow him to have his way.

Altaïr leaned back and rested his spine against the stone structure, laying his body down parallel to the ground below. His head was relaxed as his eyes were directed to the untouched heavens above him, as his eyes were filled with the massive expanse of stars and cosmic bodies above the two of them.

He reached out a hand, brushing his finger in the direction of the moon, fragmented and shattered with its many disembodied pieces scattered nearby its remaining shape. Ruby often referred to its shape by comparing it to that of a smashed cookie, a likeness that never ceased to humor those around her, not even himself.

On nights like these, Altaïr remembered his days back at the Assassin's bureau in the city, growing up amongst other young initiates like himself. Even as a child, he was training to his absolute limits, as per the staggering standards set by the organization that raised him from birth. Most days were filled with blood, sweat, and tears, but not always.

Some days on the occasion he was allowed time to himself, Altaïr immersed himself in literature, reading to fill his head with knowledge and insight of the world around him. He would read of stories and legends of heroes that saved Remnant in the past, beacons of light that shone through the darkness and put an end to the evil that plagued the world.

Sometimes, he found himself likening them to the Assassins and their mission to exact a vision of freedom and equality for all the people of Remnant, but as time passed, even he had to grow up and realize a deeper truth about the world he lived in and what he could truly accomplish as an individual.

As these thoughts passed him by, he stared to the side at the little girl stargazing beside him, he cocked his head upwards to study the features of her face. Her face was serene and full of admiration, making her eyes practically sparkle like a pair of shining diamonds, capturing his attention in a curious way.

" _Silver eyes are quite unique, indeed._ " He thought to himself as he propped his palms behind him, hoisting his body to sit upright as he turned towards his friend.

"You know, I used to stargaze on nights like these when I was a child." Altaïr spoke out loud, capturing the young girl's attention as she turned his way with a hum.

"When I wasn't training, my best friend and I would sit down and watch the stars, maybe have a friendly competition to see who could spot the most constellations in the sky." Altaïr recounted with a rare smile creeping onto his face as he recalled his memories as a child with Malik on nights much like this one.

"Wait a minute, _you_ had a best friend?"

"Conste-…huh?" Ruby stuttered, finding herself blushing amongst her tongue-tied words.

Altaïr let out a sigh as he turned back up to the sky. "Constellations. When you look up at the stars, some of them form shapes of men, animals, or even Grimm."

Altaïr then spotted one and tapped Ruby on the shoulder to catch her attention. "Over there? The five stars clustered together? That constellation is called "The Eagle". Notice the wings?"

Ruby looked up in the direction of Altaïr's finger and as she saw the pattern in the sky, she smiled brightly and bounced with joy. "Oh yeah! I see it! I see it!"

"Legends and stories from my childhood never ceased to amaze me, and there were times when me and my brothers would lie down under the stars, imagining their formations coming to life." Altaïr breathed out in wonder, picturing the assembly of stars soaring across the night sky, beating its vast, majestic wings with a triumphant shriek.

"I'll never forget nights like those. Even now, I still treasure those memories." Altaïr sighed with a content smile appearing on his usually cold and icy face, a rare sight for Ruby. With a mischievous smirk, she glanced in the direction of the aloof Assassin.

"You know, if I knew better, I'd invite you to do this more with me if it meant seeing you this happy all the time! Our friends deserve to see this incredible moment with me!" Ruby joked with a lighthearted giggle, causing Altaïr to roll his eyes in defeat.

"Fine, but first I'll need a small fee from you, my friend." Altaïr muttered as he let his back lie down, causing his head to face the stars above him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first, there's the matter of all that lunch money you've asked from me… How about you pay me back? All 1,200 Lien?" Altaïr suggested with a smug expression, watching Ruby's face pale into a childish fluster, causing him to laugh internally at her outburst.

"W-wait! I-Isn't that a little steep? I told you, I'd pay you back for that later! Cut me some slack, darn it!" Ruby whined, before descending into a lighthearted laugh.

"Hahaha… Yeah. By the way, me and my mom used to do stuff like this. I just didn't know what those constellation thingies where called." Ruby laughed as she journeyed down her own memories.

"Your mother?" Altaïr inquired.

"Yeah. She was… the best mom ever. She was always so nice to everybody, and she always made sure to tuck me in at night, and she made the yummiest cookies!..." Ruby recalled with a giggle, but Altaïr could notice a small faltering in the intonation of her voice.

"Most of all, though, she was a huntress. She believed that everybody deserved a second chance, even the bad guys. She never liked fighting, but she never stopped me or Yang, though. She's actually the one who inspired me to come here."

"Heh. I…I wonder if she would be proud of me."

Altaïr noticed the pause in Ruby's recollection, turning to notice a small tear trickling down her cheek as she sniffled softly, just barely loud enough that he was able to detect the subtle noise.

"Ruby…"

However, Ruby stopped him with a hand raised up. "N-no. I-it's fine. Really. She… actually died before I really got to know her. Most of what I heard was from Yang or Dad. They said she went on a mission and just… never came back."

"Sometimes… I wonder why she did it. I'm sure it was to save a lot of people. That only makes sense, right?"

Ruby's tears began to multiply in number as her story continued on, causing her to sob more as she stared up at the shattered moon above her, overlooking the world of Remnant with its dim lunar rays. Altaïr turned to his friend and slowly began to realize his mistake. Ruby was always optimistic, but he was wrong to base them solely off of a shallow dream.

"I suppose it could be said that we might be meeting the same fate if we're training here…" Altaïr lampshaded with an empty sigh, staring back up at the stars above and allowing his eyes to wander across the cosmic canvas.

"What do you mean?..." Ruby muttered in a confused and unsettled whisper as she directed her gaze towards him, turning her head so that her eyes met his icy glance.

"We're training to be huntsmen and huntresses. Men and women who fight against a seemingly unending wave of monsters, but to what real end? Are we really moving forward or are we holding ourselves back?" Altaïr muttered

"Ruby… why do you want to be a huntress?" Altaïr asked, curious for an answer.

Ruby paused, and for a moment, she stopped sniffling under her breath as she rubbed a knuckle against her eyes, wiping away the dampness onto the backside of her hand. She looked up at the moon above, and before Altaïr realized it, Ruby was standing near the edge of the arc overlooking the entire courtyard as scarlet rose petals swirled around them, carried by the soft midnight breeze.

Ruby stared down at Altaïr with a determined steel in her silver eyes as they shined with the light of the moon above them. The winds grew in force, swirling a light breeze around the pair of combat students and allowing small rose petals to flutter in the space between and around them.

"Why…? I guess… it's because I don't want anybody else to lose their loved ones the way I did."

Altaïr looked up at Ruby, not exactly baffled, but intrigued all the same by her answer.

"The way I see it, the world is a place everybody can enjoy the comfort of living with the ones they love, and no one should have the right to have it taken from them. My mom and many others died so that we could live, and I want to make sure nobody else has to die and cry like I did ever again."

Altaïr felt the smooth gust of wind brush past his short brown hair as rose petals danced around the two of them like fireflies in a midnight field. He gazed up at the young girl who had sworn her life to save everybody around her, and he smiled with genuine warmth from the bottom of his heart as he faced the hopeful beacon of light before him.

"A beautiful dream, indeed. Do you truly believe you will be able to see it through to the end?"

With this, Ruby only smiled brightly as she always did.

"Yep. After all, I'm gonna be a huntress, aren't I?"

A sigh escaped his lips.

 _Such innocence. Perhaps I'm the one that needs to wake up._


End file.
